Kaiba and Joey vs Yugi
by LordBarst
Summary: A random selection process forces Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler to team up for the first time ever in a 2-on-1 duel against Yugi Muto. Will Kaiba and Joey be able to put aside their differences to take down the King of Games?
1. Part One

**_Disclaimer:_** _Some of the cards used in this duel have their anime effect instead of their TCG/OCG effect._

 _ **Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler vs Yugi Moto**_

The spotlight shines brightly upon Kemo as he steps up to the microphone. He stands at the center of a gigantic dueling arena packed with thousands of enthusiastic Duel Monsters fans who are cheering at the top of their lungs, eagerly anticipating the main event.

 **Kemo:** Attention duelists! It's time for the special exhibition match of the 2016 New York City Duel Monsters Tournament - officially sponsored by Industrial Illusions and its CEO, the creator of duel monsters, Maximillian Pegasus! As you all know, Mr. Pegasus has a flair for the theatrical and wanted to put on a duel the likes of which you've never seen before!

The audience cheers and the cameras zoom in on as Pegasus. The former wielder of the Millennium Eye sits in a chair in the front row sipping a glass of red wine. He smirks and raises his glass as a toast to the start of the show.

 **Kemo:** Through a lottery, two of the top 100-ranked duelists in the world will be randomly selected. They will join forces and attempt to do what no single individual has been able to achieve: defeat the #1-ranked duelist in the world, Yugi Moto! And on that note, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the King of Games himself! Here he comes!

Yugi enters the stadium to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd in New York. Despite wearing the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, it is clear that the pharaoh is not in control for the moment. Little Yugi shyly waves towards the legions of fans and nervously smiles at random people as he takes his position on the duel field.

Opposite him, the top 100 duelists are all assembled and awaiting the results of the lottery. The impressive collection of champions includes the likes of Mai Valentine, Weevil Underwood, Mako Tsunami, Zigfried Von Schroeder, Bakura Ryou, Bandit Keith, Marik Ishtar, Johnny Steps, that guy who thought that disguising himself as a bee would help him to win, and many others who are not quite as famous.

Deliberately standing a few inches in front of the group is Seto Kaiba. He pays attention to no one but Yugi as he makes his entrance.

 _This whole thing's a joke, not that I expect any different from Pegasus,_ Kaiba thinks to himself as he observes the proceedings. _It should be obvious to everyone that I'm the only one who deserves to duel Yugi. Which is why I hacked into Industrial Illusion's mainframe and programmed the computer to select MY name first._ _I also made sure that the computer selects a veteran duelist by the name of Adrian Suzuki to be my partner. He's not in my league – which goes without saying - but the kid has a solid resume: rank Obelisk Blue at the Duel Academy, 5-time regional champion, 3-time national finalist. He should be able to pull his weight._

A small smirk crosses the face of the man who prides himself on always being in control. _And when I win this duel, it'll be a victory everyone will hear about. Yugi will have no choice but to give me a one-on-one match, and then the title "King of Games" will rightfully belong to me. Not some porcupine-headed, giant rock-worshipping nerd._

Kemo points to a giant screen at the top of the stadium where a list of all 100 participating duelists starts spinning, accompanied by a dramatic drum roll. The crowd falls silent, eagerly anticipating the first reveal. Gradually, the roulette spins slower and slower until it settles on one name: "SETO KAIBA". The roar of the crowd vibrates throughout the arena, everyone absolutely ecstatic that the two legendary rivals will clash once again, with an added twist.

 _What a shocking turn of events_ , mulls Kaiba as he pretends to look surprised. Per Kemo's request, the KaibaCorp CEO struts over to the duel field opposite Yugi. Even though the person wearing the Puzzle around his neck appears to be a simple teenager, his eyes contain a hidden fire and intensity as they meet Kaiba's steely blue gaze. The pharaoh is watching.

The roulette begins to spin again to select Kaiba's partner. The drum roll is the only sound in the arena as the crowd falls into a vigilant silence once again, the names rolling by slower and slower until the arrow trickles down to the last few. It appears to settle on the name of Adrian Suzuki, Kaiba's chosen duelist, and the CEO smirks at the success of his plan…

But the arrow doesn't stop there. It passes Suzuki and slows to a stop at the next name down: "JOEY WHEELER".

Kaiba is stunned. The crowd erupts in cheers, almost unable to believe that Joey and Kaiba will actually duel as a team for the first time ever – a match made in heaven for any duel monsters fan. An unmistakably thick Brooklyn accent is heard from the rabble of duelists as Joey picks his way through it.

 **Joey:** Hiya folks, how ya doin? Joey Wheela comin thru. Make way, make way. Pleasure's all yours, I know. Ey, did someone just grab my butt? Hands off da merchandise til afta da duel, okay?

Joey spends perhaps a little too much time showing off to the other duelists before waltzing up to the duel field past a bewildered Kaiba.

 **Kaiba:** This has got to be some sort of prank! I demand a do-over!

Kaiba scowls at Kemo, expecting the large bodyguard to do his bidding. Kemo isn't fazed.

 **Kemo:** I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. It's against the rules.

 **Kaiba:** SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY! And with it I can hire an army of KaibaCorp lawyers and sue Industrial Illusions for everything it's worth!

 **Kemo:** If you would like to pursue legal action, then please step off the dueling field while we select a replacement partner for Joey to duel against Yugi.

 **Kaiba:** Wait! Hold on, I- uh…

The president of KaibaCorp uncharacteristically stutters while searching for the right words to bark at Kemo, but in the end nothing manages to come out of his mouth. Even a situation as bad as this won't make Kaiba pass up the opportunity to get even with Yugi.

From the front row, Pegasus can't help but chuckle at the unfolding events. He instinctively rubs the spot where his Millennium Eye used to be, wishing he could read the thoughts running through the mind of Seto Kaiba at this very moment. _Now this is what I call quality entertainment! Sorry Kaiba-boy… but the punishment fits the crime._

 **Yugi:** How have you been, Joey? I'm looking forward to this! It's nice to be able to duel my best friend without the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

 **Joey:** Got dat right Yuge. You know your old pal Joey's always up for a good time! Too bad we gotta put up with rich boy. But we've been thru worse, right? Not much worse, but worse.

Kaiba is nearly shaking, his fist clenched tightly. The calm and calculating demeanor he begins all his duels with is completely gone, replaced with nothing but frustration. _WHEELER! That blonde-haired buffoon is going to ruin this moment for me! This wasn't supposed to happen!_

Kemo's pointy hair gleams under the bright spotlight as he takes the microphone and speaks to the three assembled duelists in front of him.

 **Kemo:** Attention duelists! Before you begin, here are the official rules for this 2-on-1 duel! In an attempt at balance, Yugi will start with 8000 life points while Joey and Kaiba will start with 4000 each. Duelists on the same team are allowed to use each other's monsters for fusion or tribute summons. A duelist can command their own monster to intercept a direct attack on their partner's life points. The game will continue until all members of one team have no life points remaining.

After explaining the rules, Kemo steps forward and stands between Joey and Kaiba, holding a coin.

 **Kemo:** A coin toss will determine which of you will go first. Who would like to call it?

Kaiba, still seething, doesn't budge. Joey takes this as his cue and greedily grabs the coin out of Kemo's hands. He kisses it and proudly holds it up.

 **Joey:** Lady luck's always been in love with yours truly, so I should be da one doin dis. I call heads!

Joey flips the coin and then slaps it on his wrist. It lands on heads, meaning that he will go first. He jumps in the air, happy that his lady luck came through for him again, and attempts to fist-bump Kaiba (who doesn't oblige). The result of the coin toss only increases the CEO's frustration – as always, he preferred to go first and set the pace of the duel.

 **Kemo:** Attention duelists! Shuffle your decks and activate your duel disks, because the duel will now commence!

As soon as Kemo says this, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle begins glowing. An ancient, powerful aura begins to emanate from the young boy and he seems to grow not only taller, but stronger and wiser too. A faint chant… " _Yugioooooooh",_ can be heard coming from inside the Puzzle right before the transformation completes. Pharaoh Atem finally arrives, and in a commanding Dan Greenish voice announces:

 **Yugi:** Kaiba. Joey. Prepare yourselves, because IT'S TIME TO DUEL!

 **Turn 1** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 4000 LP, Joey: 4000 LP

The crowd roars and life point screens light up all across the huge stadium as the duel officially gets under way. Yami Yugi activates his KaibaCorpDuel Disk and places his deck into it, Joey doing the same. Kaiba doesn't move, still staring a hole through the man who is now officially his partner.

 **Joey:** You ain't da only one who can transform, Yuge! Check dis out!

Joey does some sort of weird karate moves, slowly chanting " _Brooooooklyn Raaaaaaagggggeee"_ before jumping up and flexing his muscles. His chin contorts into a creepy grin.

 **Joey:** Dis is what I like ta call my SSJ form – Super Saiyan Joey. It's go time!

Kaiba facepalms.

 **Kaiba:** This is going to be a disaster.

 **Joey:** Ey, Mr. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind over der, lighten up will ya? Can't ya appreciate that we're not fightin' to save da world fa once? This duel's just fa fun!

 **Kaiba:** I don't have fun.

 **Joey:** If it makes ya feel any betta ta know dis… if you lose dis duel, nobody'll think you're any less of a douchebag. In fact, you should consida yaself lucky - cause you get ta tag with da Godfada a Games himself: Joey Wheela!

Kaiba's expression doesn't change.

 **Kaiba:** I'm thrilled.

At last, Kaiba takes a deep breath, activates his KaibaCorp Duel Disk, and places his deck into it - determined to plow ahead and battle despite the very less-than-ideal circumstances he finds himself in.

 **Kaiba:** All right, Wheeler. I might as well play along. Not that I have a choice. But let's get one thing straight. This duel should be between me and Yugi, and you know it. If I lose, it'll be because of YOU. So do me a favor - and I know this is probably the hardest thing you've ever had to do in your entire life – but just keep your mouth shut and try not to screw things up. Got it?

 **Joey:** Nah, I belong here. Cause without me Yugi would mop da floor wit ya - just like he's done the last 500 times. Ain't that right Yuge?

Kaiba grits his teeth, always hating when someone reminds him of his numerous losses to the King of Games. Yugi is examining the five cards he drew in his first turn and trying to ignore the charming conversation between his opponents, without much success.

 **Yugi:** I think Kaiba's right, Joey. You should probably stop talking now and make your move.

The Pharaoh's comment flusters Joey for a second. The Brooklyner then draws six cards from his deck and tries to shift his focus on what to play. _Not bad, not bad at all._ Thinks Joey as he looks over his opening hand. _Yeah, definitely some things I can work with here!_

 **Joey:** All right folks, hold on to ya buts! I'll start things off by throwing dis little baby down. Baby Dragon dat is, in attack mode!

The holographic technology Kaiba pioneered projects a realistic 3D model of one of Joey's classic monsters: Baby Dragon (ATK: 1200/DEF: 700), which appears on the dueling field in front of its master.

 **Kaiba:** THAT'S what you're leading with? A baby dragon? Surely you're not serious.

 **Joey:** I AM serious and don't call me Shirley! My Baby Dragon may look all cute and cuddly fa now… but they grow up fast, so enjoy him while you can! Anyway, I'm also gonna throw a card face-down. You're up, Yuge.

A projection of a face-down spell or trap card appears on Joey's side of the field behind Baby Dragon.

 **Turn 2** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 4000 LP, Joey: 4000 LP

 _Knowing Joey, he wouldn't throw out Baby Dragon unless he was planning to combine it with another card,_ thinks Yugi as he plans his initial strategy. _He must have a Time Wizard in his hand and will use its special ability to power up Baby Dragon. I've got to put up a defense!_

 **Yugi:** I'll set a monster in defense mode. That ends my turn.

A silhouette of a face-down monster card appears on Yugi's field. Kaiba is unimpressed.

 **Kaiba:** This duel has only lasted two turns and it's already boring me. I expected a pathetic first move from Wheeler, but not from you, Yugi. Now allow me to demonstrate what a real first turn looks like, because it's my move!

 **Turn 3** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 4000 LP, Joey: 4000 LP

Kaiba draws a card and wastes no time activating it.

 **Kaiba:** First off, I play Pot of Greed! And I bet Wheeler doesn't know what it does.

Joey actually hesitates for a moment before remembering what Pot of Greed does, and that just about every duelist seems to have one in their deck.

 **Joey:** You're a regula comedian, ya know dat? Your jokes really kill the audience.

 **Kaiba:** Your dueling skills already have them on life support. Nowas I was saying… the spell card Pot of Greed allows me to draw two cards from my deck and add them to my hand! Then I'll play—

Before he can finish his sentence Kaiba is interrupted by Joey, who is frantically waving his arms and trying to get his partner's attention.

 **Joey:** Yo Kaiba! Just so ya know, I have a strategy dat involves my Baby Dragon. So I think you should summon another monsta dis turn. Dat way we can overwhelm Yugi and expose him for a direct attack on his life points! Sound like a plan?

Kaiba nods at his partner.

 **Kaiba:** I sacrifice my assistant's Baby Dragon in order to tribute summon Kaiser Glider!

 **Joey:** SAY WHAT!?

Much to his surprise and dismay, Joey's dragon is erased from the field and Kaiba's dragon emerges. Wrapped in a ball of fire, Kaiser Glider (2400/2200) glides down into the arena and lands with a loud thud on Kaiba's side of the field.

 **Joey:** Ey, what gives? You just ruined my strategy!

 **Kaiba:** "Strategy" implies that you're actually using your brain. Oh, I knew all about your little scheme. If you expect me to just sit here and allow you to gamble this duel away with a card as unpredictable and dangerous as Time Wizard, you're even dumber than I thought! And I'm not sure that's possible.

Joey looks at the Time Wizard in his hand, irritated by the fact that he can no longer use the card's effect to its full potential.

 **Joey:** I'm not askin you ta become a memba of da Time Wizad Fan Club, but we're supposta be working as a team!

 **Kaiba:** Aren't we? I got rid of your useless baby and replaced it with a dragon that's twice as strong. You're welcome.

Joey grits his teeth, but before he can think of a comeback Kaiba cuts him off.

 **Kaiba:** The difference between you and me, Wheeler, is that you rely on dumb luck to hide the fact that you have no idea what you're doing. I rely on power and precision to win duels, and you're about to find out why. Kaiser Glider, attack Yugi's face-down monster!

Kaiser Glider takes flight. It wraps itself in a ball of flame and dives down toward the opposite side of the field, crashing into Yug's set monster at full-speed. For a moment, a thick layer of smoke covers the entire field, making it impossible to see the aftermath of the battle. When the dust settles, the outline of Yugi's monster appears, unscathed. A surprised Kaiba finds himself staring at Yugi's faithful defender: Big Shield Gardna (100/2600).

 **Yugi:** Kaiba, after all these years you still haven't learned that powerful monsters aren't the only ones that win duels. Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense. My Big Shield Gardna withstood the attack of your dragon, and since its defense points were higher than Kaiser Glider's attack points, the difference comes out of YOUR life points!

Kaiba's life points decrease by 200 and Big Shield Gardna switches to attack position due to its effect.

 **Kaiba:** Spare me the lectures, Yugi. I've heard them all before. Another thing I'm all too familiar with is your Big Shield Gardna. On your next turn, you're going to switch him back into defense mode. But that's not going to happen this time around, because I'll put a stop to it with this spell card!

Dark magic clouds the mind of Big Shield Gardna. It starts wobbling, becoming dizzy and disoriented.

 **Yugi:** OH NO! What have you done, Kaiba?

 **Kaiba:** Me? You should be blaming your monster for not having the strength to overcome the debilitating magic of Mesmeric Control. It entrances your Gardna and prevents it from changing its battle position during your next turn. And since it only has 100 attack points, even a duelist as incompetent as Wheeler should be able to take it down on his turn. Though I'm not holding my breath on that one.

 **Joey:** And I'm not holdin my breath on you gettin dat stick outta your ass.

Kaiba ignores Joey's retort and places a face-down card that appears behind Kaiser Glider. His turn is over, and though he couldn't penetrate Yugi's defense, he undoubtedly had the most impactful of the duel's three turns so far.

 **Turn 4** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 4000 LP

The Pharaoh draws and surveys the terrain. _Joey has no monsters on his side of the field, so I could attack him directly. On the other hand, with 2400 attack points Kaiba's Kaiser Glider could pose a serious problem if I don't do something about it soon_. It doesn't take long for the King of Games to translate his thoughts into actions.

 **Yugi:** All right Kaiba, it's time for me to rid the field of your dragon! First, I'll discard the Beast of Gilfer from my hand in order to special summon… The Tricky!

The strange jester-like wizard known as The Tricky (2000/1200) is special summoned from Yugi's hand by its effect. Its face has no eyes or nose, only a big red question mark. What tricks does it have up its sleeve?

 **Yugi:** And that's far from all! When Beast of Gilfer goes to the graveyard its special ability activates, allowing me to reduce the attack of any monster I choose by 500 points.

Yugi's archfiend crawls out of the ground, now taken the form of a demonic ghost. It floats up in a black cloud and possesses Kaiser Glider, lowering its ATK from 2400 to 1900.

 **Yugi:** The monsters in my deck work as a team, building upon each other's individual strengths. Their combined abilities have now turned the tables on your dragon, making it no match for my magician. Tricky, ATTACK!

The Tricky prepares to launch an attack on the weakened Kaiser Glider, but before it lunges forward, dozens of chains erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around the spellcaster's limbs, completely immobilizing it.

 **Kaiba:** I'm afraid your Tricky won't be going anywhere thanks to my Shadow Spell trap card. Not only does it prevent your monster from attacking or changing its battle position, but it also reduces its attack by 700 points. What were you saying about the tables being turned?

Yugi can do nothing but watch helplessly as Tricky's ATK drops to 1300, once again lower than Kaiser Glider's. Kaiba smirks, satisfied that he ended up on the better end of this brief exchange between old rivals. Yugi smiles, allowing himself to relax for a moment and enjoy the competitive, non world-saving nature of this duel.

 **Yugi:** I see your dueling skills are as sharp as ever, Kaiba. I'll set two cards face-down before ending my turn. This one ended in a stalemate, but I have a feeling the next one won't.

Two mystery cards appear in Yugi's spell/trap card zone behind Tricky and Big Shield Gardna.

 **Turn 5** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 4000 LP

Joey quickly conducts his draw phase, anxious to regain his foothold in the duel after having his Baby Dragon/Time Wizard combo messed up by Kaiba in his first turn. He's about to make a play when a certain bullheaded billionaire starts barking orders at him.

 **Kaiba:** All right Wheeler, you're on! And you better be paying attention! I've set things up perfectly for you. Attack that Big Shield Gardna right now or Yugi will switch it back into defense mode on his next turn!

Joey hesitates. His eyes dart between both of Yugi's monsters and his two face down cards, not certain that Kaiba's plan is one he should follow.

 **Joey:** I got a bad feeling about dat Tricky a his… and not just cause it's creepy-lookin.

 **Kaiba:** I don't care about your feelings. His Tricky is completely immobilized and drained of its power by my Shadow Spell trap. On the other hand, Big Shield Gardna will only be vulnerable for one turn. An opportunity like this won't come again! Do you hear me Wheeler?

 **Joey:** Look, I've known Yugi almost all my life, and if der's one thing I've learned it's dis: he can pull off just about anything when der's a magician by his side. What if he WANTS me ta destroy his Big Shield Gardna so he can use his Tricky ta cast some crazy spell next turn and clean our clocks?

 **Kaiba:** That's probably what he would expect you to think, and he knows you'd fall for his bluff because you're a moron!

Joey clenches his fist as he endures more verbal abuse from the CEO. Quickly running out of patience, he makes his move.

 **Joey:** Da only thing dat'll be falling around here is ya teeth if you keep messin with me! Now shut up and say hello ta my little friend!

Little Winguard, a small blue knight armed with a sword and shield (1400/1800) is summoned on Joey's side of the field. Kaiba takes one look at it and bursts out laughing.

 **Kaiba:** Another weak monster? You might as well put that dog costume back on and summon yourself!

Somehow, none of Kaiba's previous insults hit Joey as hard as this one does. A repressed image of Joey dressed as a dog, kneeling and whimpering at Kaiba's feet floods back into his mind. A bad dream he once had? A forgotten memory? He finds it hard to tell the difference. Feelings of insecurity and inadequacy flood Joey's mind, and he completely snaps.

 **Joey:** DAT'S IT! IF'VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND YOUR WISECRACKS! WEAK, HUH? I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S WEAK!

Smoke is practically coming of Joey's nostrils as he grabs a card from his hand and crams it into one of the spell/trap card slots in his duel disk.

 **Joey:** I equip Little Winguard with da spell cahd Lightning Blade to boost his attack by 800 points, and then I attack The Tricky!

Little Winguard's tiny sword transforms into a huge blade surging with electricity and its ATK rises to 2200. It leaps into the air and makes a beeline for Yugi's The Tricky, which is still chained to the ground by the effects of Shadow Spell and unable to avoid the attack in any way.

 **Kaiba:** No! You fool!

But Joey is now beyond reason, hell-bent on sticking it to Kaiba any way he can. Right before Little Winguard reaches its target, Big Shield Gardna moves in front of The Tricky and uses his giant shield to block the sword slash. Little Winguard is shattered along with his Lightning Blade. When the battle is over, Big Shield Gardna disappears from the field and a stunned Joey watches his life points decrease by 1700.

 **Yugi:** Your attack triggered my trap card: Ambush Shield! It allowed me to sacrifice Big Shield Gardna and transfer his defense points to The Tricky's attack points. So it looks like you got what you wanted: My Big Shield Gardna is destroyed. But he took your monster down with him.

Joey gives no indication that he heard Yugi. He vacantly blinks at his now empty field, still trying to come to terms with the fact that his second turn ended in failure just like his first. Kaiba makes a quick mental calculation and shakes his head at Joey.

 **Kaiba:** That's what you get for not listening to me. This wouldn't have happened if you had attacked Big Shield Gardna, because the boost from Ambush Shield wouldn't have given it more attack points than Little Winguard.

His partner's latest criticism snaps Joey back into reality. Having no one else to direct his anger and frustration toward, he goes after the obvious target.

 **Joey:** I only wish I COULD stop listenin' ta you! All you've been doin is messin up my concentration! If I wanted color commentary during dis duel I woulda asked Tristin, Tea and the rest a da gang ta be here!

 **Kaiba:** Of course. My mistake. I forgot that you can't tie your shoes without the rest of the geek patrol cheering you on. That pretty much sums up your entire dueling career, doesn't it? If it wasn't for Yugi taking pity on you and holding your hand every step of the way, you would still be living in some crappy apartment in Domino watching him duel me on TV instead of being the third wheel right here with us. You weren't even supposed to be at Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, and now that Yugi's not holding your hand anymore it's obvious that you don't belong here either.

Joey is shaking, too disarmed by Kaiba's statement to do anything. The Tricky's ATK returns to 1300 as the effect of Ambush Shield wears off and the turn ends.

 **Turn 6** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 2300 LP

Yugi observes the constant bickering between his two opponents and shakes his head in disappointment. He opens his mouth and is about to say something to Kaiba and Joey, but thinks better of it and decides that perhaps the best way to steer them back on course is to put them on the defensive.

 **Yugi:** I'll begin my turn by summoning Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!

A cloaked wizard wielding a staff (1900/1700) appears next to The Tricky. His face is concealed by shadow, and three golden spheres decorate his robe – two on his shoulders and one on his chestplate.

 **Yugi:** Skilled Dark Magician is a younger version of his more well-known counterpart, and he possesses a rather unique special ability. Every time a spell card is activated, he gains one spell counter. When he has three spell counters he can evolve, allowing me to sacrifice him and special summon the Dark Magician from my hand, deck, or graveyard. So to give him his first spell counter, I'll equip him with the spell card Book of Secret Arts! It will raise his attack and defense points by 300 each.

The Book of Secret Arts materializes in front of Skilled Dark Magician and he begins reading its ancient texts, increasing his knowledge of arcane magic. His stats rise to (2200/2000), making him the strongest monster on the field. One of the three golden spheres begins glowing, indicating that he currently has one spell counter.

 _I could go after Kaiba's dragon again… but a direct attack on Joey's life points would greatly weaken him and leave him with almost nothing_ , muses the pharaoh as Skilled Dark Magician awaits his master's orders. _This also presents an opportunity to test their bond as a team. For their sake, I hope they pass._

 **Yugi:** Skilled Dark Magician, attack Joey's life points directly!

Skilled Dark Magician points his staff in the direction of Joey's blonde hair and shoots a golden beam of magic out of it. All eyes are on Kaiba's Kaiser Glider, everyone aware that according to the rules he can order it to intercept the direct attack on Joey's lie points. But he doesn't move a muscle.

 **Kaiba:** Don't look at me. If you think I'm going to sacrifice a level-6 monster just to save Wheeler's sorry ass, think again.

 **Joey:** Why you son of a b—

Joey's expletive is cut off when Skilled Dark Magician's beam zaps him. The shockwave from the attack knocks him back a few steps and causes him to yelp out. When Joey recovers, he is shocked to discover that he only has 100 life points remaining. And then, the even more horrifying revelation that his face-down card is still on the field, untouched.

 **Joey:** Ah man! I forgot ta activate my face-down cahd!

 **Kaiba:** Why am I not surprised.

Joey's face turns red from embarrassment and a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead. He can feel the entire arena watching him, and he curses himself for making such an amateur mistake due to getting so riled up by Kaiba.

 **Kaiba:** And now you're one attack away from being eliminated from this duel. You should just quit and spare yourself from any further embarrassment.

Joey just stares sadly at his duel disk, where only the number "100" illuminates the tiny screen. Yugi has grown tired of all this, and finally decides to give everyone a piece of his mind.

 **Yugi:** That's enough, Kaiba! And that goes for you too Joey!

The Pharaoh's booming voice causes both Kaiba and Joey to jerk their heads toward him in surprise.

 **Yugi:** Don't you two understand that this is about more than just yourselves? You've each proven time and time again how good you are individually. This duel tests you differently - but more importantly, it presents you with an opportunity to mature as duelists. Are you willing to put your differences and feeling towards one another aside, in order to work together and combine the strengths of your great decks? Because if you can't, I can assure you that you will NOT beat me. Look at the scoreboard! Both of you have lost life points while I still have all 8000 of mine

Seto Kaiba smirks, completely unaffected by Yugi's pep talk.

 **Kaiba:** And I've got some words of wisdom for you. Enjoy those life points while you can, because they're not going to last much longer.

 **Turn 7** – Yugi: 8000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 100 LP

The KaibaCorp CEO smirks when he views his newest draw. Business is about to pick up.

 **Kaiba:** Your Skilled Dark Magician is about to lose his reading material. I activate the De-Spell card to eradicate your Book of Secret Arts!

Kaiba's spell takes effect, neutralizing the power boost of Book of Secret Arts and bringing Skilled Dark Magician's stats back down to (1900/1700). Because Kaiba activated a spell card, the second gold sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's robe begins glowing, indicating that he now has two spell counters.

 **Kaiba:** Next, I'll summon my Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode!

Kaiser Sea Horse (1700/1650), the aquatic warrior from the depths of the ocean, surfaces beside Kaiser Glider.

 **Kaiba:** And don't think I'm blind to the fact that your Skilled Dark Magician needs only one more spell counter to activate his special ability. But unfortunately for you, he won't be around to complete the trifecta.

Yugi furrows his brow, confused by Kaiba's apparent intentions.

 **Yugi:** Hold on. Both of our strongest monsters now have 1900 attack points, which means that if you attack they'll both be destroyed.

 **Kaiba:** Not quite. You see, Kaiser Glider's special ability prevents it from being destroyed when it battles a monster with equal power. Kaiser Glider, send his magician back to the circus!

The dragon takes to the skies once again and dive bombs towards Yugi's Skilled Dark Magician. However, right before it crosses the threshold into Yugi's side of the field, a gigantic barrier of pure light rises up like a curtain and stops the dragon in its tracks. Kaiser Glider crashes into the barrier but doesn't even make a dent in it.

 **Yugi:** None but the strongest of monsters can penetrate my Wall of Revealing Light! By giving up 2000 of my life points, I've reinforced the wall with enough energy to block any attack from monsters with 2000 or fewer attack points.

Kaiba grits his teeth, irritated by the fact that neither of his two monsters have enough ATK to break through the wall, meaning that his newly summoned Kaiser Sea Horse can do nothing this turn. Yet despite this unforeseen setback, the CEO promptly puts a backup plan into motion.

 **Kaiba:** The only thing you've accomplished with that move is delaying your defeat. Stalling won't get you anywhere when you come face-to-face with the creature I will soon unleash. But first, I activate the spell card Cards of Consonance! It lets me discard a dragon-type tuner monster with 1000 or less attack, and in return I get to draw two cards from my deck.

The monster Kaiba chooses to discard is The White Stone of Legend. As soon as he does so, a huge white stone glowing with hidden energy bursts out of the ground on his field and rises up like a monolith.

 **Kaiba:** And when The White Stone of Legend goes to the graveyard, I'm able to add a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck directly to my hand. Come to me my legendary beast!

The white stone begins pulsing like a heartbeat, thudding louder and louder until cracks start to appear on its smooth surface. When the great power contained within the stone becomes too strong, the spirit of a Blue-Eyes bursts out of it and goes to Kaiba's hand. The third golden sphere on Skilled Dark Magician's chestplate starts glowing, indicating that he has attained his third and final spell counter.

 _Yugi can go ahead and summon his Dark Magician. I'll be ready for it_ , thinks Kaiba as he sets the two cards he just drew with the effect of Cards of Consonance in his spell and trap card zone. _Then on my next turn, I'll use the special ability of Kaiser Sea Horse to sacrifice him and bring out my Blue-Eyes White Dragon using only one tribute. With 3000 attack points, it'll have more than enough power to bypass the Wall of Revealing Light. Nothing will be able to protect Yugi from the wrath of my Blue-Eyes. He's finished!_

 **Kaiba:** So the King of Games bought himself another turn. Better make the most of it, your highness.

 **Turn 8** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 100 LP

Surging with the same confidence he has in all his duels, Yugi draws and gets ready to call up an old friend.

 **Yugi:** Be careful what you ask for. I activate the special ability of my Skilled Dark Magician, in order to sacrifice him and special summon… the one and only DARK MAGICIAN!

Yugi's signature monster, the ultimate wizard known as Dark Magician (2500/2100) emerges from the deck, spins in the air, and nimbly lands on his feet to the roar of the crowd. Yugi's expression then turns serious as he looks at Joey and with a hint of regret says:

 **Yugi:** I'm sorry, Joey. But I've got no choice. I can't hold back. Dark Magician, attack Joey's life points directly and eliminate him from this duel with your dark magic attack!

Dark Magician nods upon hearing his master's command. He expertly twirls his staff and then points it at Joey, unleashing a beam of dark magic from it. But this time, Joey is well aware of his face-down card and intends to make full use of anything that can give him a lifeline.

 **Joey:** Go Scapegoats! Protect my life points!

Joey's quick-play spell card special summons four Sheep Tokens (0/0 each) in defense position to guard him from the direct attack. Dark Magician takes out one of them, leaving three. Yugi appears relieved that his friend is still in the duel, while Kaiba's reaction is the exact opposite.

 **Yugi:** Good move Joey! Better late than never, I suppose. It would have been disheartening to see you fall this soon because of one mistake. I'll set two cards face-down before ending my turn. Make a comeback Joey, I know you've got it in you!

Two shadowy cards appear behind Yugi's magicians as the turn ends.

 **Turn 9** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 100 LP

Joey can't help but crack a smile after hearing his friend's reassuring words, though he doubts his fortune will change much this turn. But then, he draws. The smile turns into a large grin.

 **Joey:** You're right, Kaiba. I am da third wheel.

Kaiba glances at Joey, surprised that he casually admits this.

 **Joey:** I mean, look who I'm up against. Da guy with da only three playable copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his deck, and da guy with a 5000-year old spirit in his head telling him how ta win. And I'm just a regular Joey trying ta hang with these guys. Dat's okay though. I'm no stranger ta being the underdog. As a matter a fact, dis is where I do my best work. So if you think I should quit, I got news for ya. Joey Wheela don't quit. As long as I have even 1 life point left I'll keep fightin. I'll keep fightin to show everyone out der dat you don't need money or magic ta be a great duelist. You just need ta believe in yaself!

Kaiba rolls his eyes, greatly missing the old days when he was the top-ranked duelist and nobody had ever heard of these dorks and their collection of lame speeches. He has no idea that his daydreams are about to be rudely interrupted.

 **Joey:** Since Mr. Kaiba is SUCH an intelligent duelist, maybe I should follow his advice and bring out a more powerful monsta. The only problem is, I need ta sacrifice something to play it and I can't use my Scapegoats. If only I could use my partner's monstas for a tribute summon…

Kaiba goes wide-eyed, not liking where Joey is going with this. Not liking it at all.

 **Kaiba:** Wheeler! Don't even think about—

But it's too late. Kaiba helplessly watches his Kaiser Sea Horse disappear and the robotic Jinzo (2400/1500) emerge on Joey's side of the field. The appearance of the famous machine-type monster is met with a loud cheer from the crowd.

Kaiba, beside himself with rage, stares at the two cards he set during his previous turn. Because of Jinzo's effect, he can no longer activate them. _Wheeler has screwed things up for the last time! He's going to pay for this. I swear it!_

 **Joey:** What's the mattah, rich boy? I got rid of fish head and replaced it with a badass psychic android dat can destroy trap cahds. You're welcome.

Joey chuckles to himself, giddy that he got even with Kaiba by doing the same thing Kaiba did to him earlier in the duel.

 **Joey:** Hehe… I guess third time's da charm, baby! Dat's why dey call me Wheela da Showsteala! I'm da comeback kid! Now Jinzo, do your thing - toast Yugi's trap cahds!

Jinzo's eyes light up and fire a laser beam that sweeps Yugi's field, detecting and destroying any trap cards. Wall of Revealing Light is engulfed in flames, the heat causing Yugi to raise one arm to shield his face from its intensity. But he quickly regroups, knowing he still has the advantage.

 **Yugi:** Your Jinzo may be a formidable monster, but it's still 100 attack points weaker than my Dark Magician.

 **Joey:** Ah yeah? What if I juice it up with Graceful Dice!

Joey inserts a spell card into his duel disk. A fairy holding a blue six-sided die appears in the sky above him.

 **Joey:** Now I'm no statistics expert, but it seems ta me dat the odds are in my favor. I only need ta roll a 2 or higher to make Jinzo stronger than Dahk Magician, so dat means a two outta six… percent… odds…

 **Kaiba:** 83.3% chance, you idiot. Now just go already!

Joey isn't about to dispute Kaiba's math, so he presses a button on his duel disk. The fairy releases the die and it rolls onto the field. Joey eagerly watches it, expecting it to land on a good number. The die gradually slows to a halt. At first it looks like it will land on a 6, but to Joey's disappointment it lands on… **1**.

 **Joey:** NYEH!?

Jinzo's ATK barely goes up to just 2500 – equal to that of Dark Magician's. Joey is clearly unhappy with the result, but nonetheless he intends to make the most out of his turn.

 **Joey:** I could attack Dahk Magician, but den I'd lose my Jinzo too. So I guess I'll go for Da Tricky instead. Jinzo, take out dat creepy clown with cyber energy shock!

Jinzo cups its hands together and generates a swirling black ball of energy. It makes a direct hit on The Tricky, creating a blast which obscures most of the field in a layer of smoke. When it clears, there is not one, but THREE Trickys on Yugi's side of the field. Joey rubs his eyes, wondering if he's having vision problems.

 **Joey:** I wanted to make less of your monster, not more of it!

 **Yugi:** As its name implies, The Tricky is full of tricks. Right before your attack made contact, I activated a quick-play spell card known as Tricky Spell 4. It sacrificed Tricky and special summoned a Tricky Token in defense mode for every monster my opponents controlled. Your Jinzo just destroyed one of them, leaving three. The Tricky Tokens are exact duplicates of the original, except for the fact that they can't attack. But my Dark Magician CAN attack, and on my next turn I'll order him to wipe out Jinzo and the rest of your life points! This could be your final turn, Joey. Make it count.

Heeding Yugi's grave words, Joey looks at the one card in his hand that can save him. _I've got no choice but ta rely on Lady Luck again, and she's been giving me da cold shoulder dis whole duel! Oh well. Kaiba won't like dis… but den again he doesn't like anything so who cares?_

Joey sets a single card in his spell/trap zone. He closes his eyes, placing all his faith into it.

 **Joey:** All right Yuge. Dis is it. Do your worst!

 **Turn 10** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 3800 LP, Joey: 100 LP

The 10th turn of the duel begins, and the King of Games intends to fulfill Joey's request. Jinzo's ATK reverts to 2400.

 **Yugi:** First, I play Card of Sanctity! It allows each of us to draw until we're holding six cards in our hand.

All three players fill up their hands and Yugi looks over his, already formulating strategies against Kaiba after Joey has been eliminated.

 **Yugi:** Now that the effect of Graceful Dice has worn off, my Dark Magician is once again the strongest monster in play. Dark Magician, annihilate Jinzo with dark magic attack!

 **Joey:** I had a feeling you would do something like dat, which is why I set dis little guy on my last turn, and now I'm gonna introduce him to your Dahk Magician. Go Roulette Spidah!

A mechanical spider flies out of Joey's quick-play spell card and attaches itself to Dark Magician's face. The mage desperately tries to rip the spider off, but it clings on with its metallic legs. It acts as a magnet, dragging Dark Magician to the center of the field. A multi-colored web then appears below him. Each strand of the web points to a different target: Yugi, Kaiba, Joey, the three Scapegoats, the three Tricky Tokens, Jinzo, and Kaiser Glider.

 **Joey:** It's kinda ironic dat I'm usin' Roulette Spidah ta protect my Jinzo, cause dis is da cahd I used ta win Jinzo from Espa Roba! By giving up half my life points, I've basically blindfolded your mage and turned him into a loose cannon. He'll spin round and round until you tell him ta stop, and den he'll automatically attack any target he's pointing at – me, you, money bags, or any of our monstas.

Joey's life points get cut to a mere 50 as Dark Magician begins spinning on the roulette table, the velocity increasing with every second. Round and round he goes, where he stops nobody knows. Yugi grows increasingly nervous, until he simply can't bear to see his favorite monster suffer like this any longer.

 **Yugi:** Dark Magician… STOP!

The roulette gradually stops spinning, until it ends with Dark Magician pointing at Kaiser Glider. Roulette Spider disappears from his face and then the magician blasts the dragon, destroying it and decreasing Kaiba's life points by 600. Yet the CEO doesn't look even remotely concerned about the loss. In fact, it's as if this is exactly how he hoped things would play out.

 **Kaiba:** For once Wheeler did something useful. Thanks to Kaiser Glider's second effect, when it's destroyed I can return one monster on the field to its owner's hand. And I choose…

Kaiba sticks his finger out, and for a moment it looks like he'll point to the obvious choice (Dark Magician), but to everyone's shock, the monster he ends up pointing at is entirely different.

 **Kaiba:** JINZO!

Before Joey has time to react, his cyborg leaves the field and returns to his hand. Kaiba flashes a wicked smile, knowing that now nothing can stop him from carrying out his strategy.

 **Kaiba:** And now that I can use my trap cards again, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. Go face-down cards: Ring of Destruction and Ring of Defense!

Kaiba presses two buttons on his duel disk and the lethal combination springs forth. Ring of Destruction surrounds Yugi's Dark Magician and starts spinning, while Ring of Defense opens its petals and spins in front of Kaiba, shielding him from the damage of the blast.

 **Kaiba:** Not only will Ring of Destruction decimate Dark Magician, but everyone will lose life points equal to its attack points. Everyone but me that is… since I'll be safe behind my Ring of Defense.

Yugi looks at Kaiba in horror, refusing to believe that even _he_ is willing to eliminate his partner so shamelessly.

 **Yugi:** But Kaiba… this will cause Joey to lose the duel!

 **Kaiba:** It will? That's a shame.

Yugi clenches his fist and adopts a frustrated tone as he pleads with his headstrong opponent.

 **Yugi:** KAIBA! Please don't do this!

 **Kaiba:** ZIP IT YUGI! I refuse to allow this clown to hold me back and make a fool out of me any longer! So say goodbye to your magician AND your friend!

Ring of Destruction spins faster and the flames around it blaze with hotter intensity. Joey's buttocks clench up as he prepares to witness the rest of his life points drop to zero.

Suddenly, Dark Magician disappears in a cloud of smoke. Ring of Destruction detonates, sending a shockwave throughout the field that nearly knocks over the participants. But there was nothing for it to destroy. Kaiba is furious.

 **Kaiba:** Did your magician just pull a vanishing act? Where the hell did he go?

Yugi laughs, always relishing moments like this when his opponents are caught off guard by his magician's many tricks.

 **Yugi:** You won't destroy my Dark Magician that easily! He was saved just in time by my Monster Recovery card. It returned Dark Magician to my deck a split second before your Ring of Destruction exploded. And that's not all. I must also shuffle my hand back into my deck and draw the same number of cards.

Yugi unites the six cards he was holding into his deck and then draws a fresh hand of six. His Millennium Puzzle starts glowing as if it has detected tremendous power nearby.

 **Yugi:** And with this new hand, I've drawn the card I need to win this duel.

The skies above the dueling arena suddenly darken. No weather report predicted a storm that day.

 **Yugi:** I sacrifice all three of my Tricky Tokens!

Kaiba and Joey both turn pale, knowing this can only mean one thing.

 **Yugi:** In order to summon… the Egyptian God Card SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!

Three lightning bolts strike the Tricky Tokens, obliterating them. Their life force is converted into energy which is then funneled into a portal in the sky. From this portal a gigantic red head pokes out, horrifying the more skittish audience members. The heavens twist and thunder roars, signaling the coming of this ancient creature and the dawn of true power. Gusts of near hurricane intensity buffet Joey and Kaiba, forcing them to clench the cards in their hands to prevent them from being blown away. Yugi's duel disk surges with electricity as the holographic projector struggles to animate the gargantuan beast. Slifer the Sky Dragon slowly descends, flashes of lightning revealing more and more of him, until he wraps his long serpentine body around the perimeter of the entire colosseum. Joey, in what could be his final act, desperately turns to his partner and tries to reason.

 **Joey:** Look Kaiba. I know you and I get along like two peas in a pod, but Yugi's right. If we don't start workin togetha, we're BOTH goners!

Kaiba doesn't reply, rendered speechless for the first time. He just stands there, pale and wide-eyed, staring into the face of a God.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	2. Part Two

**Yugi:** Stare into the face of defeat!

Slifer the Sky Dragon roars. The sound is so loud that it reverberates multiple times throughout the entire stadium and shatters several large screens where the audience is watching the duel, causing people to duck and cover as broken glass rains down upon them. Slifer curls his long serpentine body more and more around the colosseum. His gigantic head hovers mere feet above the pharaoh.

Kemo (who looks like he's about to get a heart attack) runs over to Pegasus, who has stopped sipping his glass of red wine.

 **Kemo:** Attention duel— I mean, Mr. Pegasus sir! That THING… that huge monster card is far too dangerous! People can get hurt and we could be opening ourselves up to some serious lawsuits! I strongly suggest we order Yugi Moto to remove it from the field immediately!

Pegasus is visibly shaken, but his voice remains steady when he answers his employee.

 **Pegasus:** And have thousands of people asking for a refund? No. I have felt the wrath of an Egyptian God myself, Kemo. So have all three of those duelists. Yugi is fully aware of the risks. Maybe this was his plan all along - to bring Kaiba and Joey to the brink of destruction so that they would be forced to rely on each other to survive…

 _I do wonder what's going through that head of yours, Yugi-boy,_ thinks Pegasus as his finger rubs the spot where his Millennium Eye used to be. _Nobody appreciates a good show more than I do, and you've given us the best show ever. But you now wield an ancient and dangerous power, and with great power comes with great responsibility._

The sold-out crowd in New York starts up a "this is awesome!" chant, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime event of seeing a God Card in person – blissfully unaware of the present danger.

Seto Kaiba hasn't moved a muscle since Slifer arrived. Nearly in a catatonic state, the KaibaCorp CEO stares wide-eyed at the gargantuan beast now before him. Joey is shaken up too, but he fights back memories of Marik's Winged Dragon of Ra sending him to the hospital and tries to reach out to his partner:

 **Joey:** Didya hear what I said, Kaiba? If we don't get on da same page, Yugi's gonna take us out one by one!

Kaiba makes no sign that he heard Joey; his gaze is still fixed on Slifer.

 **Joey:** Hey Kaiba! Earth ta Kaiba! Hey, are you in der? It's your turn!

Finally, the sound of that annoying Brooklyn accent proves enough to snap Kaiba back to reality. He runs his fingers through his brown hair as he assesses the current predicament, then turns to Joey. The classic Kaiba scowl returns.

 **Kaiba:** You're the reason we're in this mess in the first place, Wheeler! If you had just followed my instructions, kept your mouth shut and not screwed things up, this duel would have been over by now! Instead, you let him summon enough monsters to sacrifice for his Egyptian God Card!

Joey rolls his eyes, kinda getting used to everything being his fault now according to professor Kaiba.

 **Joey:** Ya know, for a guy who likes ta remind everybody dat he doesn't need me ta beat Yugi, you seem ta be putting da blame on everyone but yourself.

 **Kaiba:** That's right – I don't need you. I've taken down Slifer the Sky Dragon on my own before, and I can do it again!

Kaiba stubbornly turns away from Joey and locks eyes with Yugi, determined to make good on that promise.

 **Turn 11** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 3200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi smiles at Kaiba, looking forward to meeting his challenge. _Perfect!_ thinks Seto to himself as he sees the card he pulled in his Draw Phase. _Just what I needed_.

 **Yugi:** True, you've defeated Slifer before. But never against such odds. Take a look, Kaiba. Your field is empty. While I have five cards in my hand, meaning that Slifer's attack and defense points equal 5000!

Screens around the dueling arena display Slifer's stats as (ATK: 5000/DEF: 5000), a value so high it causes onlookers to gasp and wonder what plan Kaiba can possibly concoct to take down such a powerful monster. The rest of the dueling field looks like this: Yugi has no cards in play other than Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the only three cards on Joey's field are his three Scapegoats (ATK: 0/DEF: 0) that were special summoned during turn 8.

Kaiba isn't nervous. He takes his new card and places it on the duel disk horizontally.

 **Kaiba:** First, I'll set a monster card in defense mode!

A dark silhouette of a monster card appears on Kaiba's side of the field. Slifer immediately reacts by opening the higher of his two enormous mouths.

 **Yugi:** Have you forgotten about Slifer's second mouth? It'll automatically attack any new monster that appears on your side of the field and lower its attack or defense by 2000 points - depending on what position it's in. And that's not all. If that monster's points are reduced to 0, it'll be destroyed!

Slifer generates a supercharged ball of lightning in his second mouth and then fires it off towards Kaiba's set monster.

 **Kaiba:** Don't insult me, Yugi. Nobody has studied the effects of the three Egyptian God Cards more extensively than I have. Have YOU forgotten that I discovered Slifer the Sky Dragon's weaknesses long before you ever did?

When Kaiba says this, Yugi's mind creates a flashback to Battle City, to when he was dueling Strings the Rare Hunter while Kaiba was watching from the sidelines. At one point in that duel, Yugi had lost all hope and had fallen to one knee, unable to do anything but bow before the superior might of Slifer the Sky Dragon. It was Kaiba that motivated Yugi to "get up off his feet" and continue the duel, because Kaiba had already figured out the dragon's weakness. _He's using the same strategy right now!_ realizes a shocked Yugi as his mind returns to the present time.

Slifer's swirling ball of electricity makes a direct hit on its intended target. Before it goes to the graveyard, Kaiba's set monster is revealed: Cyber Jar.

 **Kaiba:** Slifer has no choice but to attack any monster I play, making him powerless to stop Cyber Jar's special ability from activating! Now observe, as Cyber Jar wipes out every monster on the field. Then, we must each draw five cards and special summon any monsters with 4 stars or less.

Cyber Jar's portal opens up and absorbs every monster on the field. Slifer is unaffected, but Joey's three Scapegoats are sucked into the portal. The jar then closes and explodes, destroying all creatures trapped within it. Joey winces from the sound of the detonation, feeling sorry for his furry friends.

All three players then draw five cards. Slifer's ATK skyrockets to a mammoth 10,000 points. Kaiba special summons Blade Knight (1600/1000) in defense position. Joey special summons Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in defense position. Yugi has to monsters he can special summon. Slifer's second mouth ability then activates once again and fires off two thunderballs at both of the newly summoned monsters. Since neither monster has enough DEF to withstand the 2000 points of damage, both Blade Knight and Panther Warrior are destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

With both of his opponent's fields cleared of monsters, Yugi is more confident than ever.

 **Yugi:** It seems your plan backfired! Not only did you make Slifer even stronger, but you also destroyed your partner's only line of defense!

Slifer the Sky Dragon (10,000/10,000) appears to be even more colossal than before. But despite the sudden surge in the Egyptian God's power level, Kaiba laughs, enjoying this rare moment when his strategy has managed to catch even the King of games off guard.

 **Kaiba:** It makes no difference how many attack points Slifer has, you fool. I don't need to beat him to win this duel. I just need to beat YOU. So prepare yourself, Yugi, because the end is near!

Yugi's eyes get wide, suddenly catching on to Kaiba's real plan. But it's too late to do anything about it.

 **Kaiba:** Thanks to Cyber Jar, I just drew the card I needed to seal your fate. I banish Cyber Jar and Blade Knight from my graveyard, in order to special summon one of the most feared creatures in all of Duel Monsters… CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON- ENVOY OF THE END!

The forces of light and darkness intertwine to create a creature of pure chaos and destruction. The dreaded Chaos Emperor Dragon (3000/2500) emerges on Kaiba's field in defense position. Slifer's second mouth fires off a shot directed at the new dragon, but with 2500 DEF, Chaos Emperor Dragon is sturdy enough to survive the blast with 500 DEF points to spare.

 **Kaiba:** Now I activate Chaos Emperor Dragon's special ability! First I must give up 1000 of my life points – a small price to pay for what I'll get in return. Because Chaos Emperor Dragon will obliterate every card on the field and in our hands, inflicting 300 points of damage to your life points for every card it sends to the graveyard. According to my calculations, that should be more than enough cards to bring your life points down to zero. You're FINISHED!

Kaiba's life points drop to 2200 as Chaos Emperor Dragon starts glowing and generating the supernova that will end the duel. But at that moment, hundreds of giant hairy balls pop up out of nowhere and start covering the dragon from head to toe, smothering it and preventing it from activating its effect.

 **Yugi:** Guess again! I discard Clear Kuriboh from my hand to negate the special ability of your Chaos Emperor Dragon! Clear Kuriboh is just as useful as the rest of the Kuriboh brothers, and he can protect me from any monster effect that damages my life points.

Kaiba clenches his fist so hard his hand goes numb, furious that one of his almighty dragons was humiliated by floating hairballs once again. On the sidelines, Pegasus laughs at the unfolding events, knowing that when he made new Kuriboh cards one of his hopes was that Yugi would use them to troll his opponents just like he did with the original Kuriboh.

 **Joey:** Nice going, rich boy. I demand you pay restitution for da Scapegoats you just blew up.

For once, Kaiba doesn't have a comeback. He just scowls at his hand, not willing to admit that the only plan he had against Slifer failed. He sets two cards in his spell/trap card zone before quietly ending his turn.

 **Turn 12** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi swiftly conducts his Draw Phase, eager to utilize the full might of his God Card.

 **Yugi:** I'll begin my turn by playing Pot of Greed! This spell card lets me draw two cards from my deck and add them to my hand.

After making sure everyone heard his explanation of how the card works, Yugi unites his two new cards with the rest in his hand and seems very pleased at the possible combinations now available to him. Slifer's ATK rises to 11,000.

 **Yugi:** Next, I activate Polymerization to fuse Berfomet and Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, in order to fusion summon… Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!

The two fusion materials swirl together and merge into one two-headed beast, one head resembling Gazelle while the other resembles Berfomet. Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800) flies down with a roar and lands next to Slifer. It looks unusually small in comparison to the huge God, whose ATK drops to 8000 due to the three cards Yugi just played.

 **Yugi:** Then I'll boost Chimera's attack and defense by 700 with the Horn of the Unicorn!

A mystical horn protrudes from Chimera's Gazelle head, imbuing it with electrical powers. Its stats increase to (2800/2500).

 **Yugi:** And now, Kaiba… prepare to experience a force like none other! Slifer, annihilate Chaos Emperor Dragon with thunder force attack!

Slifer opens its gigantic lower maw and releases a stream of fire so intense it incinerates Chaos Emperor Dragon almost instantly. Kaiba is nearly knocked down from the shockwave generated by the attack, and he must use all his strength to hold his ground. When the air becomes still again, he looks up and finds that his deadly dragon has been reduced to a tiny pile of ash. At least in was in defense position, so his life points were unharmed.

With Kaiba's monster taken care of, the pharaoh turns to his friend and prepares for part two of the assault.

 **Yugi:** Joey. I didn't want to subject you to a direct attack from an Egyptian God Card unless I had no other choice. So I'll have my Chimera finish you instead. You only have 50 life points remaining and no monsters with which to guard them. My friend, you have dueled valiantly… but it seems your luck has finally run out. Chimera, attack Joey's life points directly and eliminate him from this duel with pulverizing pounce!

Chimera leaps at Joey, but he doesn't seem concerned about the oncoming threat.

 **Joey:** Hold ya horses, Yuge! I ain't ready to kick da bucket just yet!

Suddenly, Chimera freezes. A monster that kinda looks like a sword has appeared in front of it like a stop sign. Chimera proceeds no further.

 **Yugi:** Where did that creature come from? You had no cards on your field!

 **Joey:** Got dat right! It came from my hand, and it's a handy little monstah called Battle Fadah. It's kinda like my version a Kuriboh - when you attack me directly, I can special summon Battle Fadah from my hand and immediately end da Battle Phase. Pretty cool, eh?

Yugi does seem to think Battle Fader is a neat card to have, but even more so he's relieved that his friend is still hanging on. Unfortunately for Joey, a blast from Slifer's second mouth quickly erases Battle Fader from the field, leaving it barren once again.

 **Yugi:** Well, since my Battle Phase is over I may as well play out my Main Phase 2. So I'll set one card face-down and end my turn. Your move, Joey!

One mystery spell or trap cards appears behind Yugi's monsters. Slifer's ATK is now 6000.

 **Kaiba:** I'm not impressed, Wheeler. Stalling won't help if you don't have what it takes to defeat an Egyptian God Card.

 **Joey:** You had your chance ta take down Slifah and you dropped da ball, so pipe down! Now it's my turn.

Kaiba smirks.

 **Kaiba:** Like you could do any better than I did…

 **Joey:** We'll see about dat.

Joey tries to appear confident, but a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead.

 **Turn 13** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

As someone who is a firm believer in superstition and luck, Joey can't help but feel unnerved by the fact that it's the 13th turn of the duel. He looks at his latest draw (Flame Swordsman) and sadly puts the warrior-type monster back into his hand, knowing it would be easily vaporized by Yugi's killing machine.

 _How am I supposta put up a fight when Big Red weakens the attack or defense of every monstah I play?_ thinks Joey as he desperately tries to come up with a strategy. _Come on, think! There's gotta be some card, some combo in my hand dat can come thru for me here!_

Joey raps his knuckle against his skull, trying to get the noggin going. It actually works.

 _Attack or defense…wait…dats it!_ He realizes, then begins chucking at his own brilliance. _Slifah only decreases my monstah's attack OR defense points. Not both!_

 **Joey:** Hehehe… I just figured out how ta beat your unbeatable God cahd!

This statement catches both Kaiba and Yugi by surprise.

 **Kaiba:** No way! You must be bluffing!

 **Joey:** Yes way, and I don't need some big fancy "chaos dragon" to do it neither. I just need a little crittah called Copycat!

The mischievous wizard known as Copycat is summoned in attack position. It holds a mirror in front of its face which is reflecting Slifer the Sky Dragon.

 **Joey:** Copycat lets me copy da attack and defense points of any monstah on da field, and guess which one I'm gonna pick?

Copycat's mirror shines as it copies the power of the monster it's reflecting. Its stats become (6000/6000). Slifer's second mouth then triggers, lowering Copycat's ATK to 4000.

 **Joey:** Now dis is where it gets interesting! I activate Shield  & Sword, which swaps the attack and defense points of every monstah on da field!

The magic of Shield & Sword kicks in, changing the field's gravity and reversing all monster's offensive and defensive values. Chimera's stats change to (2500/2800). Copycat's ATK now becomes 6000 – equal to Slifer's once again. But this time it will stay that way.

Kaiba gasps when he figures out Joey's plan, floored by the fact that Wheeler was actually able to put together a combination of cards capable of felling the mighty dragon. Joey stands up straighter and his eyes sparkle with renewed passion as he recalls every trial he's been through to get to this moment.

 **Joey:** I've been mind-controlled by evil robe-wearing freaks, trapped in virtual words by creepy geezers who wanted ta take ovah my body, almost drowned, been struck by lightning, forced to put on a dog costume, and have been putting up with Seto Kaiba for the past 13 turns. If you thought some overgrown lizahd was gonna spook Joey Wheela, I got bad news for ya! Copycat, take out Slifah da Sky Dragon!

Copycat's mirror shines once again as it imitates Slifer's thunder force attack. A stream of supercharged fire comes directly out of the mirror and heads straight for Yugi's giant beast.

 **Yugi:** That was a good move, Joey. But not good enough. Your attack triggers my trap card: Mirror Force!

Joey almost faints when he sees Yugi activate the card that has saved him countless times. Copycat's stream of fire is reflected right back at it and the trickster is burned to a crisp, feeling the wrath of the God whose power it stole.

 _Ah man! The only monstah I had dat could beat Slifah just got barbecued! What the heck am I gonna do now?_ worries Joey as he slumps down to one knee, staring at the smoking pile of ash where his best bet was standing just a moment ago. Kaiba stares at the same pile with a conflicted expression – surprise at Wheeler getting so close, and disappointment at Yugi stopping the attack cold.

The King of Games crosses his arms and smiles, invigorated by the failures of his foes.

 **Yugi:** I commend both of you for finding ways to exploit Slifer the Sky Dragon's abilities, but you've each made a critical error in judgment. You were so focused on Slifer that you turned a blind eye to the rest of my cards - and the traps lying in wait there. A good duelist never leaves his best monsters unsupported, no matter how powerful they may be on their own. And the same holds true for both of you. Though you may be powerful duelists on your own, if you support one another you will be unstoppable.

Joey looks down in despair, knowing that Yugi is right, but Kaiba's ego will get in the way of any productive cooperation between them.

 _All I got is deez two traps, and they ain't gonna be enough. Oh well… might as well go down swingin'._ Joey inserts the two cards into his duel disk and they are projected face-down on the field in front of him. He ends his turn, preparing for the worst. _I tried my best. Guess my best just wasn't good enough. Freakin Mirrah Force!_

Chimera's stats revert to (2800/2500) as the effect of Shield & Sword wears off.

 **Turn 14** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi draws; Slifer's ATK climbs to 7000. Joey decides that now is as good a time as any to springs one of his two traps.

 **Joey:** Not so fast der, slick! Reveal face-down cahd: Drop Off! It forces you ta send da cahd you just drew straight to da graveyahd. So Slifah's attack points stay da same.

Slifer's ATK falls back to 6000 as Yugi nods and puts the card into the graveyard slot of his duel disk. Joey manages to catch a brief glimpse of the card as it's deposited: Dark Magician.

 **Yugi:** Very well. True to form, you're fighting till the last card. But it won't make a difference. We're right back where we started two turns ago, except this time you're out of Battle Faders and out of luck. Chimera, crush the rest of Joey's life points!

Joey closes his eyes and tightens his butt cheeks, bracing himself for the final assault. Chimera roars and leaps into action. Joey doesn't dare open his eyes until it's over.

 **Kaiba:** NEGATE ATTACK!

Chimera crashes into some kind of invisible force field mid-leap; its two faces squish against the barrier as they collide with it. The beast then hops back to Yugi's side of the field with its tail between its legs.

 **Kaiba:** Sorry Yugi, but we're going to be putting up with the buffoon for at least one more turn. Thanks to my Negate Attack card, your Battle Phase is now over. So you can forget about attacking with any more monsters this turn.

Joey opens his eyes and blinks a few times to make sure he's not dreaming. He raises his eyebrows at Kaiba, wondering if he finally managed to remove the stick from his ass.

 **Kaiba:** Don't look at me like that. I didn't have some sudden change of heart after hearing one of Yugi's cheesy motivational speeches, and I don't plan on signing up for your Friendship Club any time soon. I only bailed you out because if I hadn't, Yugi would have just used Slifer to wipe out my life points too. And I doubt a trap like Negate Attack would have much effect on an Egyptian God Card…

Yugi thinks there are more reasons for Kaiba coming to Joey's aid than the CEO lets on, but the pharaoh decides not to say anything. Kaiba isn't done, however.

 **Kaiba:** Yugi. You dare lecture ME about the mistakes in judgment I've made in this duel, yet you just made the biggest mistake of them all. You didn't have the guts to directly attack your best friend with an Egyptian God Card, because you know he's not as strong as you and I. That is a sign of weakness, and there is NO room for weakness in Duel Monsters! Don't tell me that not having to "save the world" anymore has made you soft.

Yugi narrows his gaze upon Kaiba, not appreciating his tone.

 **Kaiba:** How could you let a third-rate chump like Wheeler almost take down your Egyptian God Card single-handedly? If you no longer care about defending your title of King of Games, then perhaps it's time that someone more deserving of that title takes it from you. And I'll do it… by any means necessary.

Yugi doesn't reply. He sets one card - undoubtedly something else intended to protect Slifer. The turn concludes with Slifer's ATK at 5000.

 **Turn 15** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

The card Kaiba draws is usually a duel-ender, but not under these circumstances. _Crush Card Virus. Not only could it cripple Yugi's deck, but it would also weaken Slifer the Sky Dragon,_ thinks Kaiba as he remembers the hundreds of monsters this devastating card has eliminated over the years _. However, I don't have a monster with 1000 or less attack points to combine it with. But Wheeler does. I'll need to buy some time…_

Seto presses a button on his duel disk to reveal his second face-down card:

 **Kaiba:** Your puppy dog is about to be put down. I activate Soul Exchange, which lets me sacrifice your monsters instead of my own. So I'll sacrifice Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast in order to tribute summon Dragon Seeker in defense mode!

Chimera is enveloped in a magical vortex which absorbs its energy and uses it to call forth the fiendish Dragon Seeker (2000/2100) to Kaiba's field. It takes a knee and crosses its arms as it takes a defensive stance. Slifer's second mouth lowers the Seeker's DEF by 2000 points, but it survives with 100 DEF left.

 **Kaiba:** Unfortunately for you, my move also comes with a nasty side effect. When Horn of the Unicorn is sent from the field to the graveyard, it returns to the top of your deck. And you know what that means. You'll be forced to draw it next turn - instead of another monster card you could have used to attack us with.

As per the rules of the card, Yugi takes Horn of the Unicorn out of his graveyard pile and places it on top of his deck.

 _I hate hiding behind monsters almost as much as I hate having to rely on Wheeler's pathetic cards, but it's necessary if my plan is to succeed_ , thinks Kaiba as he watches his crippled Dragon Seeker act as a feeble guard against a direct attack. _It'll be worth it in the end, because everyone will know that it was through MY superior strategy and dueling skills that we emerged victorious. The glory will be mine._

 **Kaiba:** Before I end my turn, I'll place these two cards face down. Now make your move!

Hidden from everyone but Kaiba, Crush Card Virus appears face-down behind Dragon Seeker, waiting to unleash its chaos.

 **Turn 16** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi draws Horn of the Unicorn as expected, but unbeknownst to Kaiba he possesses a card that can thwart the CEO's strategy.

 **Yugi:** As you well know, there are ways of drawing outside the Draw Phase. This spell card is one of them: Graceful Charity! It allows me to draw three cards from my deck as long as I then discard two cards from my hand.

Kaiba holds his breath, praying that Yugi doesn't draw a monster as the pharaoh picks up the top three card of his deck and adds them to his hand, then discards Horn of the Unicorn and Lightforce Sword. But judging by his pause, it appears that he did not draw a summonable monster card. Kaiba's breathing returns to normal

 _Kaiba's right, Yami_ , says little Yugi to his alter-ego as they communicate inside their shared mind. _Joey is the only one of us who can't control an Egyptian God Card._ _Attacking him directly with Slifer could be too dangerous. How do we know Kaiba will come to his aid?_

 _It's okay, Yugi_ , replies the pharaoh reassuringly with his deep Dan Greenish voice. _Kaiba will make the right decision. If he doesn't—_

 **Joey:** Just do it, Yuge!

The mental conversation between the two Yugis is interrupted by Joey. His arms are outstretched and he has a fearless look in his eyes.

 **Joey:** I don't want you goin easy on us. I'd ratha lose to a Yugi who's giving it his all than beat one dat's not. Take ya best shot, or I'll make ya regret it!

Yugi nods at his friend.

 **Yugi:** All right. Slifer, attack Joey's life points directly!

Slifer opens its enormous mouth and starts generating

 **Kaiba:** Dragon Seeker, intercept the attack!

Before Slifer's beam can reach Joey, Kaiba's Dragon Seeker moves in front of him and takes the full force of the attack. The creature melts, but Joey's life points are safe.

 **Joey:** I knew it! You can't do dis without me. Just admit it.

Kaiba smirks and deliberately avoids Joey's gaze.

 **Kaiba:** Don't flatter yourself. The way I see it, you got us into this mess, so you have to help me get us out of it. It's only fair.

Joey nods.

 **Joey:** You got yourself a deal. Now let's do dis!

Yugi's face is glowing. Things are developing just as he'd hoped.

 **Yugi:** I'm glad you have finally come to your senses. But at this point, I'm afraid it's too little, too late.

 **Kaiba:** Wrong. Your little social experiment is about to blow up in your face. I'll make you regret ever trying to manipulate ME.

The two partners take a deep breath and prepare for a double-teamed assault on Slifer the Sky Dragon.

 **Turn 17** – Yugi: 6000 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Kaiba puts phase two of his plan into motion.

 **Kaiba:** Listen to me very carefully, Wheeler. I need you to summon that Time Wizard of yours.

Joey is baffled. He cleans his ears out, not sure he heard Kaiba correctly. This is coming from the same guy who called Time Wizard an "unpredictable" and "dangerous" card at the beginning of this duel and specifically wanted Joey NOT to summon it.

 **Joey:** Nyeh? Does dis mean you agree to join da Time Wizahd Fan Club? We have cake.

 **Kaiba:** Just play the damn card. It's not like you have a choice anyway.

Joey looks around at the field and determines that no, he does not.

 **Joey:** Ok. Gooooooo…. Time Wizahd!

The famous clock-loving magician (500/500) is summoned to Joey's field, but it doesn't have a chance to use its time magic before Slifer's second mouth opens and the red dragon fires off a thunderball at the newly-summoned monster. Time Wizard disappears in an explosion which obscures the whole field in smoke.

 **Yugi:** Your Time Wizard has been destroyed!

 **Kaiba:** I suggest you look again. Was it destroyed…or sacrificed?

Following Kaiba's advice, Yugi takes a closer look at the field. The charred remains of Time Wizard levitate in the air. They quickly crumble into dust, but that dust seems to have a mind of its own. It forms a dark cloud and then starts floating towards Yugi's hand and deck.

 **Kaiba:** Time Wizard turned out to be a fitting host for my lethal Crush Card Virus. As we speak, the virus is beginning to infect your hand and deck, exterminating any and all monsters with 1500 or more attack points!

The black cloud of disease infiltrates Yugi's deck. Kaiba watches the process with glee, as he does every time Crush Card devastates his opponent's best cards.

 **Kaiba:** Several turns ago, Cyber Jar forced you to summon almost every weak monster in your hand. Judging by the fact that your hand is now full yet you haven't played another monster, I'm betting that you must have several high-level monsters in your hand that can't be summoned without sacrifices. The virus will force you to discard those monsters, thereby lowering Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack points!

Crush Card would seal the fate of any other duelist, but not Yugi. The King of Games presses a button on his duel disk and his counter trap card is flipped up.

 **Yugi:** Not if I eradicate the virus with the Seven Tools of the Bandit! At the cost of 1000 of my life points, Seven Tools of the Bandit negates the effect of your Crush Card trap. So it looks like the monsters in my deck – and my hand – just got a clean bill of health!

Yugi's life points drop to 5000 as the virus is expunged from his cards. Kaiba turns pale, defeat flashing before his eyes, his final plan to dethrone Yugi Moto foiled. _He has a counter for everything! How can this be?!_

Joey on the other hand is ecstatic.

 **Joey:** You just fell for our REAL trap! Dat was da plan all along. Ta get you ta use your face-down cahd… so dat you couldn't stop mine.

Both Yugi and Kaiba freeze and stare at Joey, neither of them aware of any such plan. A mocking laughter fills the arena, but it's not coming from any of the three duelists.

 **Joey:** I activate Graverobbah ta steal a monstah from your graveyahd!

The mischievous Graverobber pops up on Joey's field, laughing at Yugi while holding a card from his graveyard in its hands. It slowly turns the card over so its owner can see it: Dark Magician.

 **Yugi:** OH NO! My Dark Magician! I was forced to discard him when you played Drop Off!

Yugi is powerless to stop Slifer's second mouth from lowering his faithful servant's ATK by 2000 points, but Dark Magician is powerful enough to survive with 500 points left – as Joey undoubtedly knew he would.

 **Joey:** Why da long face, Yuge? I thought you'd be happy ta see your favorite momstah. Maybe you'll feel betta if I combine him with MY favorite monstah. I play Polymerization ta fuse Dark Magician with da Flame Swordsman in my hand. Say hello ta Dahk Flare Knight!

Magic and fire become one as Dark Magician and Flame Swordsman merge to create the Dark Flare Knight (2200/800). Despite Slifer's second mouth leaving it with a mere 200 ATK, the warrior still looks noble and combat-ready. A long black cape billows out behind it. Its armor is made of materials taken from the armors of both monsters used to create it. Its sword burns not with a red flame but with a blue one, indicating that the knight can control extreme heat. Yugi is shaking his head, having a hard time believing that he allowed himself to be caught in this trap. He knows exactly what's coming next.

 **Joey:** Alright, here goes… Dahk Flare Knight, attack Slifah da Sky Dragon!

 **Kaiba:** ARE YOU INSANE!? Look at the difference in their attack points!

Kaiba wildly rants and raves at Joey, making all sorts of threatening gestures as he panics. Joey ignores him and carries out his attack. Dark Flare Knight raises his sword and points it toward the imposing Egyptian God Card. A tornado of magic and flame erupts out of it. Slifer counterattacks, and both monster's beams collide in the air. Slifer's beam easily overpowers Dark Flair Knight's and sends it crashing back down toward the warrior-type monster. The ensuing explosion wipes out Dark Flare Knight. Yet Joey's life points remain the same.

 **Joey:** Dahk Flare Knight has not one, but two special abilities! First, it prevents me from losing life points when it falls in battle. Second, when it goes to da graveyahd Mirage Knight takes its place!

A new hero clad in golden armor materializes in the same spot where Dark Flare Knight stood. Mirage Knight (2800/2000) endures the blast from Slifer's second mouth and has only 800 ATK remaining, but like his predecessor his true power is yet to be revealed. Yugi has witnessed this hidden power before - for this was the card he and Joey used to defeat the Big Five's Five-Headed Dragon in the Virtual World.

 **Joey:** And third… your Egyptian God Card is about ta be ancient history. Mirage Knight, slice and dice Slifah da Sky Dragon!

Mirage Knight leaps into battle, fearlessly rushing at the dragon. Slifer counterattacks, engulfing Mirage Knight in a stream of fire.

 **Joey:** Did I mention Mirage Knight has a special ability too? He's able ta absorb the attack points of da opposing monstah ta boost his own!

Mirage Knight's ATK shoots up to a grand total of 6800. For the first time, Slifer is outmatched. The knight emerges from the fire unscathed and swings his scythe, cutting the God in half with a single stroke. The long serpentine body writhes and thrashes about in agony as it falls in two pieces onto the arena floor. The pieces then shatter and explode, shaking the stadium to its very foundations. Slifer the Sky Dragon has been slain.

 **Joey:** AAAHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAHHHH! Whose da man? I'm da man!

The crowd bursts into cheers and applause, and it doesn't take long for the sound to reach deafening levels. Even Pegasus and Kemo are on their feet and clapping from the sidelines. Seto Kaiba is beyond words. _Incredible. He actually did it. The imbecile actually did it. Maybe he IS a better duelist than I thought. Or maybe just the luckiest duelist I've ever seen._ The KaibaCorp president wrestles with the decision of how much credit Joey actually deserves long enough to almost forget about his face-down card.

 **Yugi:** I wouldn't be so quick to celebrate if I were you. This duel is far from over.

 **Kaiba:** Indeed. Your suffering has only just begun. And I'm about to intensify it. Reveal trap card: Flat Level 4! It allows each of us to special summon a 4-star monster from our decks directly to the field. Now stand back as I call upon the mighty Vorse Raider!

The wicked man-beast (1900/1200) emerges from the darkest recesses of Kaiba's deck in attack position, eager to spill new blood.

 **Joey:** Vorse Raidah, huh? Den I guess it's a raiding party!

Axe Raider (1700/1150) answers the call of duty, firmly gripping its double-headed axe. Joey is proud to have this old warrior by his side once again, recalling all the times it took care of business for him at Duelist Kingdom.

 **Yugi:** As for me, I'll summon Magician's Valkyria in defense mode!

A female spellcaster with a twisted wand (1600/1800) takes a knee on Yugi's field, ready to defend the pharaoh's life points with her life. Since Valkyria's DEF is higher than Axe Raider's ATK, Joey figures that there's no point in attacking this turn. Despite this he's still on cloud nine, certain that the tide has turned in his and Kaiba's favor.

 **Joey:** Well what do ya know? We got Yugi Moto on da ropes, playing defense! You ain't so tough without your God Card. I'll set one card face-down and end my turn. Let's see what else ya got.

A concealed card appears in Joey's back row behind Axe Raider.

 **Turn 18** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi seems pleased with his latest draw, but he adds the card to his hand without playing it. _Just like assembling the pieces of a puzzle_. _One down, two more to go_.

 **Yugi:** You're half right. I am on the defensive… for now. But as far as having me on the ropes is concerned… you are sadly mistaken. First I activate the spell card Pot of Avarice! It lets me return five monster cards from my graveyard to my deck; then I must draw two cards.

The five monsters Yugi chooses are Dark Magician, Gazelle, Berfomet, Beast of Gilfer, and Slifer the Sky Dragon. He shuffles them back into his deck and draws two cards, one of which is exactly the one he was looking for. _Two down, one to go_.

 **Yugi:** Then I'll reinforce my line of defense with the Giant Soldier of Stone!

A colossal warrior made of solid rock (1300/2000) is summoned in defense position next to Magician's Valkyria.

 **Kaiba:** OH MY GOD A GIANT ROCK! It's a rock and it's giant!

Kaiba can't resist poking fun at Yugi's guardian, but his joke is met with a tough crowd.

 **Yugi:** Mock my Stone Solider all you want. With 2000 defense points, there isn't a monster on either of your fields with enough attack power to penetrate his armor.

With a devilish grin, Kaiba looks down at one of the monster cards in his hand.

 **Kaiba:** You'll live to regret those words.

 **Turn 19** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Kaiba takes his time conducting his Draw Phase, enjoying the chance to be in control and make his greatest rival squirm.

 **Kaiba:** Allow me to introduce you to the Kaibaman! I don't believe you two have met.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Did Seto Kaiba clone himself? A man wearing a Blue-Eyes mask and the same outfit as Kaiba appears before him. Upon closer inspection he's actually a holographic projection of the monster card known as the goddamn Kaibaman (200/700). Not the hero we deserve, but the one we need right now.

 **Joey:** Kaibaman? How come der's no Joeyman?

 **Kaiba:** Because only the world's best duelist has cards custom-made just for him.

Pegasus rolls his eyes (eye?), knowing it took serious monetary incentive from the Kaiba Corporation to produce the card, and serious threats from its president to convince Pegasus not to name the card Kaibaboy instead.

 **Kaiba:** What the Kaibaman lacks in attack and defense points, he more than makes up for with his unique superpower. You see, I can sacrifice him to bring out my ultimate beast: the BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!

Kaibaman is tributed and sent to the graveyard, having served his role and now possibly off to join The Avengers. Kaiba's legendary engine of destruction descends from the sky, bathed in a shower of glittering white light. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) lands in the arena with an assertive thud and roars. Fans in the colosseum welcome it with a massive ovation, showing how much they respect and admire one of the most famous duel monsters of all time.

 **Kaiba:** And I saw, and behold a pale dragon. And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him…

Even Yugi is unnerved in the presence of Blue-Eyes. Though he has faced the creature many times, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon always projects a certain aura that is both awe-inspiring and bone-chilling to even the most experienced of duelists.

 **Kaiba:** Blue-Eyes, turn that giant rock to dust! White lightning attack!

Blue-Eyes White Dragon opens its mouth and unleashes a beam of white lightning. Giant Soldier of Stone tries to stand its ground, but it has no chance against the supreme power of Blue-Eyes. The colossus crumbles, causing an earthquake as pieces of its body topple onto the field.

 **Kaiba:** Your turn, Vorse Raider! Carve up his Magician's Valkyria!

Vorse Raider jumps up and slices the magician, shattering the hologram into hundreds of pieces. Since both of Yugi's monsters were in defense position his life points remain the same, but his field is now unguarded. Kaiba can't resist the opportunity to gloat.

 **Kaiba:** You're unusually quiet, Yugi. Too busy consulting with your imaginary mummy friend? KaibaCorp employs some of the best psychologists in the country. You should really give them a call. I'd even be willing to foot your bill.

Yugi doesn't fall prey to Kaiba's mind games. He maintains his concentration, knowing that all he has to do is bide his time and let destiny take its course.

 **Turn 20** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Yugi draws the third and final card he needed. He smiles up at Kaiba.

 **Yugi:** I combine Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Magnet Warriors in my hand, merging them together to form a new monster with 500 more attack points than your Blue-Eyes. Behold… Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!

Alpha. Beta, and Gamma all emerge from Yugi's hand and fly into the air. They disassemble and then their individual body parts combine and lock in place one by one. Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850) is created. It has the body and sword of Alpha, the horns of Beta, and the wings and feet of Gamma.

Kaiba grits his teeth in frustration, having nothing planned against Valkyrion's surprise appearance. But Joey has him covered.

 **Joey:** You might wanna tell Valkyrion ta watch his step!

Yugi doesn't know what Joey means until he looks down just in time to see the magna warrior falling through an endlessly deep pit in the ground. Its metallic body quickly disappears in the blackness of the chasm.

 **Yugi:** Valkyrion! What have you done?

 **Joey:** On my last turn, I placed a hidden trap on your side of da field. A trap dat automatically triggers when you summon a monstah with 1500 or more attack points. It's called Bottomless Trap Hole, and it banishes Valkyrion from da game!

Yugi isn't sure how to respond. Very rarely does one of his most powerful monsters get shut down so abruptly. Kaiba is once again taken aback by Joey's impressive moves and quick thinking. _Wheeler is really pulling his weight. About time._

Yugi ends his turn, still trying to process what just happened.

 **Turn 21** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Joey draws. Joey grins.

 **Joey:** Hey Kaiba… mind if I use your Vorse Raidah?

Kaiba does mind, but he has a pretty good idea of what Joey intends to do with it. He smiles.

 **Kaiba:** I've always wanted to see those two fight side-by-side. Do it!

Joey giggles, unable to contain his excitement any longer. This is something he too has always wanted to witness.

 **Joey:** I sacrifice Vorse Raider and Axe Raider. Say hello ta good old RED-EYES!

At first, only the scarlet eyes of the ferocious Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) are visible in the darkening sky, glowing like two hot coals. The creature's silhouette comes more and more into view as it dives down into the arena and lands next to Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Cameras flash all throughout the stadium as fans try to capture the dream team now standing side-by-side. Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes have joined forces.

 **Yugi:** Red-Eyes…Blue-Eyes… on the same team. Never thought I'd see the day.

 **Joey:** And if you think Red-Eyes is a tough customer now, wait till ya get a load a dis spell cahd! I equip him with Dragon Nails ta increase his attack points by 600!

Red-Eyes Black Dragon's claws are transformed into steel nails, and his ATK rises to 3000 – equal to that of Blue-Eyes. Joey breathes a sign of relief, not having to worry about his dragon looking inferior to Kaiba's any longer.

 **Joey:** Now Red-Eyes, attack Yugi's life points directly! Inferno fire blast!

Red-Eyes arches its head back and spits out a fireball directed at Yugi. But the King of Games always has one more trick up his sleeve.

 **Yugi:** I banish Clear Kuriboh from my graveyard to activate its second special ability! When I am under a direct attack, Clear Kuriboh allows me to draw a single card from my deck. If that card is a monster, I can special summon it to the field right away!

Yugi places his thumb and index finger on his deck, but hesitates before drawing. _If this doesn't work, Joey's Red-Eyes will wipe out almost all my life points – a setback I may not be able to recover from. Heart of the Cards… guide me._

His faith rewards him. The card is indeed a monster. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) is special summoned in defense position and takes the full force of Red-Eyes Black Dragon's fire blast. But when the smoke clears, the elf swordsman is completely unscathed. Joey does a double-take.

 **Joey:** Hey, what gives? Celtic Guardian only has 1200 defense. He shoulda been torched!

 **Yugi:** And he would've been, if not for his special ability. This isn't just any Celtic Guardian, Joey. This is Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and he can't be destroyed in battle with any monster that has 1900 or more attack points. Your Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack is well above that number.

 _We can barely make a dent in his lift points_! thinks Joey in frustration. _We_ _still got da advantage though. Nobody can hold back both Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes for long. Not even Yugi._

With no other cards to play, Joey has no choice but to end his turn.

 **Joey:** You ain't kiddin about the "obnoxious" part…

 **Turn 22** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Now that he's been granted a second chance, Yugi intends to do what he does better than anyone else in the game: turn the tables.

 **Yugi:** I sacrifice Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in order to tribute summon one of the most skilled magicians in my deck. Behold… the Dark Magician GIRL!

Every female fan in attendance squeals with glee when they see the beautiful Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) flying through the air like she's in a Broadway musical. She twirls her wand and strikes a cute pose in front of Yugi, glitter falling off her body when she lands on the field. Dark Magician Girl winks at Joey, nearly causing him and every other male in the audience to faint. The only person who doesn't seem to be affected by her charm is Seto Kaiba.

 **Kaiba:** I'm beholding. Tell me, what chance does she possibly have against our dragons?

 **Yugi:** Oh, she won't be alone for long.

Both Kaiba and Joey knows exactly where this is going.

 **Yugi:** I activate the spell card Sage's Stone! With Dark Magician Girl on the field and the Sage's Stone in play, I am able to call forth Dark Magician from my deck!

A spellbinding circle appears next to Dark Magician Girl. A shiny purple stone floats in the center of the circle, glowing and pulsing with hidden magical properties. She casts a spell on the stone, unlocking its true power. The stone submerges itself into the circle, and moments later Dark Magician (2500/2100) rises up from it, standing right beside his female counterpart. The unstoppable duo has reformed. The magicians nod at each other, ready to kick ass and perform magic tricks. And they're all out of ass.

 **Yugi:** It's time for me to take this duel to the next level. Kaiba. Joey. Ready your cards, forge your strategies, and prepare yourselves. For the ultimate test will now begin!

Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes stare across the field at Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. The battle lines have been drawn. A war is brewing.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	3. Part Three

The battle lines have been drawn.

On one side of the field stand two of the greatest dragons in all of Duel Monsters. The legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500) proudly roars, announcing it is once again ready to serve the will of its one and only master, Seto Kaiba. Beside it, the ferocious Red-Eyes Black Dragon (3000/2000) glares at the opposition with crimson eyes, enjoying a 600-point power boost due to being equipped with Dragon Nails. Joey Wheeler lovingly gazes at his reptilian friend, a card that has come through for him on countless occasions ever since he won it from Rex Raptor back in Duelist Kingdom.

On the opposite side of the field, the ultimate spellcaster tag team is ready for action. Dark Magician (2500/2100) and Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700), the two monsters that have fought at Yugi's side through the harshest of times and against the strongest opponents. This may prove to be the duo's toughest test yet.

Kaiba and Yugi stare each other down like only true rivals could, the air between them so tense you could cut it with a knife. They know the showdown has arrived. Joey tries to imitate them, but he can't seem to contain his inner fanboy.

 **Joey:** Ah man, dis is too awesome! Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes versus Dahk Magician and Dahk Magician Girl? Dis is da kind a thing I read about in fanfics, yet it's actually happening right now! Hey, Yuge, guess what? Red and blue make purple, which is exactly what your magicians are gonna be after our dragons are thru with 'em! HAHAHA!

Joey's chin contorts into a creepy grin as he shakes his fist at Yugi and trash talks the King of Games. As usual, Kaiba is not impressed.

 **Kaiba:** Wheeler, you make it sound like this is actually going to be some kind of contest. Those magicians are the weakest monsters in play. Our dragons will deal with them quickly. And with them out of the way, it'll only be a matter of time before we win this duel and I get one step closer to reclaiming the title that is rightfully mine. The title of number one duelist! The title Yugi stole—

Kaiba's monologue is suddenly interrupted when three giant bright swords fall from the heavens and surround the two dragons, preventing them from attacking for three of Kaiba and Joey's turns.

 **Kaiba:** Damn it.

 **Yugi:** Well Kaiba, it seems you're all too familiar with the card I just played, but you don't seem to grasp where the real strength of my spellcasters lies. It's support. My deck is filled with cards that enhance and expand the magical abilities of my Dark Magicians. And now that both of them are on the field at the same time, they are unstoppable! I'll be interested to see if Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes can support one another the way my magicians do.

Yugi sets one of these support cards in his spell and trap zone, intending to bolster his forces while under the protection of the Swords of Revealing Light.

 **Joey:** Yugi makes a good point, money bags. It won't be easy ta take those magicians down when they're togetha like dat.

 **Kaiba:** Speak for yourself. If I had a dime for every magician my Blue-Eyes has wrecked over the years… I'd be even richer.

 **Turn 23** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Kaiba glances at his newest card and bursts into an arrogant cackle. Looks like he won't be waiting 3 turns after all.

 **Kaiba:** You're getting predictable in your old age, "pharaoh". Those swords have been wasting my time ever since our very first duel. But times change. I'm always upgrading my deck, refining my strategies, ensuring I don't fall victim to the same moves again. Unfortunately for you, I now possess a spell card that allows my Blue-Eyes to bypass the Swords of Revealing Light.

A curious Yugi listens, having several ideas about which card Kaiba could be referring to.

 **Kaiba:** It's called Burst Stream of Destruction, and for one turn it unlocks the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's most devastating attack. An attack so powerful, it can obliterate every single monster on your field in a single shot. Now my dragon, take flight! Burst Stream of Destruction attack!

Kaiba activates the card and Blue-Eyes begins flapping its giant wings, generating an intense gust that forces Joey and Yugi to put their arms up. The pale beast then takes off with the speed of a fighter jet, soaring higher and higher into the sky, above the stadium, through the clouds. The audience members crane their necks to try to see how far up Blue-Eyes is going, a task which soon becomes nearly impossible. When it has almost reached outer space, Blue-Eyes finally stops its ascent and begins charging the blast.

 **Yugi:** Oh my gods.

Seto Kaiba laughs, relishing the sheer amazement and terror his holographic technology is now capable of instilling in people. Even he didn't know it could go this far. For a moment, Joey's instincts kick in and he feels concerned for his friend.

 **Joey:** YUGI! Hang in der!

Blue-Eyes unleashes its attack. A massive beam of electricity is discharged from its mouth and plummets toward the arena, ripping through cloud after cloud. Yugi's entire field is engulfed in the storm, and he musters all his strength to prevent being knocked over himself. For a moment it appears as if his two magicians were instantly vaporized by the attack. But looks can be deceiving. It soon becomes clear that Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl are holding their own. The tips of their staffs are touching, forming a protective bubble that surrounds the two mages and shields them from the blast.

 **Kaiba:** How are they withstanding my dragon's wrath? Explain yourself!

 **Yugi:** Gladly! My magicians are under the protection of Spell Shield Type-8, a trap card I set on my previous turn. All I had to do was discard one spell card from my hand, and Spell Shield negated the effect of your Burst Stream of Destruction. It's going to take much more than that to beat my Dark Magicians, Kaiba! Though it wasn't a bad first try.

Kaiba grits his teeth in frustration as Yugi inserts Dark Magic Curtain into the graveyard slot of his duel disk to pay the cost of Spell Shield Type-8. Blue Eyes White Dragon's attack is cancelled and the dragon returns to its master's side.

 **Kaiba:** Inconsequential. I may not be able to attack for a while, but you're in no position to do so either. So I'll do things your way – use this downtime to build up my strength. And then… when those swords expire… I promise it'll take much more than one card to hold back what I have in store for you!

Kaiba sets two cards in his back row and ends his turn. One of the Swords of Revealing Light disappears. Two remain.

 **Turn 24** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Just as he was hoping, Yugi draws another useful support card for his magicians and places it in his back row along with one other – building up his arsenal of spells and traps in preparation for the impending war.

 **Yugi:** I'll also place two cards face-down. That will be all for now.

 **Turn 25** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Joey is relieved that the pace of the duel has slowed for the time being. This is a good time for him to build up some defenses of his own to try to protect the few life points he has left. He draws a card and immediately activates it; it happens to be one of his favorites.

 **Joey:** I'm on a roll! A Roll of Fate dat is. Dis cahd lets me roll a die and den whatever numbah I get, dat's how many cahds I get ta draw from my deck. Of course I also have ta send da same amount of cahds from my deck to da graveyard, but so what?

Roll of Fate is activated and a six-sided die is cast onto the field. _Come on baby! Joey needs a new pair a shoes!_ mutters Wheeler to himself as he eagerly watches the die roll. It finally stops on a " **4** ". _Good enough for me_ , thinks Joey as he draws four cards and then sends Battle Warrior, Salamandra, Armored Lizard, and Blue Flame Swordsman from the top of his deck to the graveyard.

 **Joey:** Den, ta keep things interesting I play Dangerous Machine Type-6!

Joey inserts the continuous spell card into his duel disk. The earth starts shaking as a large metal machine emerges from underground, steam hissing from its many gears and cogs before it settles in front of Joey. Neither Yugi nor Kaiba are sure what to make of this strange gadget, but Kaiba tends to lean towards pessimism more often than not.

 **Kaiba:** I don't like the look of that thing, Wheeler. What does it do?

Joey scratches his blonde hair.

 **Joey:** I have no idea.

 **Kaiba:** WHAT!?

Joey giggles, reeling Kaiba in after the he took the bait.

 **Joey:** Relax, I'm just messin with ya. What I meant is, Dangerous Machine Type-6 does something different every turn. We won't know what, until I give it a spin during each of my Standby Phases. What numbah comes up determines what effect da machine has on dat turn.

Seto groans in frustration and tries to focus on his own cards, but his eyes keep darting toward the big machine on Joey's field.

 **Joey:** Anyway, I've given both you guys plenty ta think about for now, so I'll set three cards face-down and den end my turn.

With these three cards, Dragon Nails, and Dangerous Machine Type-6, Joey's spell and trap card zone is now full. As his turn concludes, the second Sword of Revealing Light vanishes. Only one remains.

 **Turn 26** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Not quite ready to go on the offensive yet, the King of Games is content to play out this turn in much the same way he did his previous one.

 **Yugi:** I'll set another two cards face-down, and then end my turn.

He now has a total of four face-downs in his spell and trap card zone.

 **Turn 27** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

 **Kaiba:** You disappoint me, Yugi. Whatever it is you plan on doing next turn, it had better be worth the wait. Because your time is up!

Kaiba then sets three face-downs in his spell and trap card zone, maxing it out. Joey nods at his partner and then does some shadowboxing to stretch out his muscles.

 **Joey:** We're ready for ya, Yuge! Come get some!

 **Yugi:** Very well. It is time.

Kaiba has five face-down cards in his spell and trap zone. Yugi has four. Joey has three. All preparations for the battle have been made. Every man's full arsenal amassed, just waiting to be unleashed. An eerie stillness has descended over the stadium. It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The calm before the storm.

As the final Sword of Revealing Light vanishes, all three participants look at one another and shout the same thing:

 **Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba:** LET'S DUEL!

 **Turn 28** – Yugi: 4200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

The clash begins.

 **Yugi:** To start things off, I play the spell card Dark Magic Twin Burst! It increases Dark Magician's attack points by the total attack points of Dark Magician Girl.

The two magicians bring their staffs together to unite their magic. Dark Magician Girl transmits her energy to Dark Magician, raising his ATK by 2000 points: from 2500 to 4500.

 **Kaiba:** Why thank you. That's exactly what I was expecting you to do. I activate Absorb Spell! This card will absorb the power of Dark Magic Twin Burst. Therefore, the attack points you just added to your Dark Magician will be transferred to my Blue-Eyes White Dragon instead!

Dark Magician glows red as its ATK returns to 2500. Blue-Eyes glows green as its ATK climbs from 3000 to 5000.

 **Yugi:** I thought you might try to counter that, so I prepared a counter of my own: Mystical Refpanel! Now I can redirect the power boost your Blue-Eyes just gained… right back to my Dark Magician!

A blue-haired fairy holding a big mirror appears in front of Yugi. It reflects Kaiba's Absorb Spell, then turns around and shines it on Dark Magician, bringing his ATK back up to 4500 while the ATK of Blue-Eyes returns to 3000. With the advantage in his corner again, Yugi transitions into his Battle Phase.

 **Yugi:** Dark Magician, vanquish Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Dark magic twin burst attack!

With the power of Dark Magician Girl making him almost twice as strong, Dark Magician leaps up and points his staff at Red-Eyes, preparing to vaporize both the monster and Joey's life points.

 **Joey:** Not if I sic dis trap on ya: KUNAI WIT CHAYN! It switches David Blaine ta defense mode!

Joey presses a button on his Duel Disk to raise his face-down Kunai With Chain. A long chain with three blades erupts out of it, heading straight for the attacking Dark Magician.

 **Yugi:** You used that trap for the first time when we dueled the Paradox Brothers. Ironically, that's also the first time I used THIS trap. It's called Shift, and it makes my monsters switch places!

Dark Magician vanishes and then reappears in the same spot Dark Magician Girl was standing in mere seconds ago, while she teleports to his spot. This forces Kunai With Chain to wrap itself around Dark Magician Girl instead, pulling her down into defense position. Dark Magician is unaffected.

 **Yugi:** Let's try this again. Dark Magician, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon now!

Kaiba steps in, surprising everyone.

 **Kaiba:** You're going up against two duelists, remember? Not just one. I activate Magical Trick Mirror, which in turn lets me activate any spell card from your graveyard and use it against you. Tell me, Yugi… how does it feel when YOU have to wait 3 turns before attacking for a change?

A mannequin wielding several mirrors is summoned on Kaiba's field. It points those mirrors at Yugi's graveyard, reflecting back an image of three bright swords, which then fall around Yugi's monsters the same way they had confined Joey's and Kaiba's dragons for the past several turns.

 **Yugi:** You chose Swords of Revealing Light. That suits me just fine, because I can chain Dust Tornado to blow them away!

Dust Tornado quickly goes to work, sweeping Yugi's field and erasing the Swords of Revealing Light.

 **Yugi:** You keep springing them up, I'll just keep shutting them down. Dark Magician, at—

 **Kaiba:** GO COMMAND SILENCER!

Before Yugi can finish his sentence, Kaiba activates yet another one of his face-down cards. A totem pole materializes on his field and begins emitting a supersonic screech. The noise is so loud it causes Yugi to drop to his knees and cover his ears in a feeble attempt to block it out.

 **Yugi:** What… is… happening?

 **Kaiba:** It's quite obvious. Your monster couldn't hear your command, therefore your attack is cancelled. Ready to throw in the towel yet? I can do this all day, Yugi!

When the totem pole leaves the field, Yugi picks himself up, looks his foe right in the eyes, and grins – never happier than when he's right here in the heat of battle.

 **Yugi:** So can I! First, I activate my final face-down card: Zero Gravity! It changes the battle positions of all monsters on the field.

The ground trembles as gravity is reversed and all face-up creatures are affected. The chains ensnaring Dark Magician Girl shatter as she stands up and switches to attack position (ATK: 2000), while Dark Magician changes to defense position (DEF: 2100). Red-Eyes (DEF: 2000) and Blue-Eyes (DEF: 2500) both take a knee.

 _What's he planning?_ wonders Kaiba, confused by this latest move. _The prostitute can attack now, but she doesn't have enough attack points to bring either of our dragons down. Unless…_

 **Yugi:** Then, I play a spell known as Dedication Through Light and Darkness. My Dark Magician will now conjure up both dark magic and light magic, combining their powers to enhance his own. And when the boundaries between light and darkness are broken… chaos reigns. So observe, as I sacrifice Dark Magician to call forth… the Dark Magician of CHAOS!

A portal to the dimension of chaos opens up beneath Dark Magician. He crosses his arms and sinks into it. After a few moments, a new, much more powerful mage slowly begins rising from the portal. Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600) is special summoned in attack position. On the sidelines, Pegasus feels a chill run down his spine. For this looks exactly like the ritual monster that defeated him in Duelist Kingdom.

 **Yugi:** I'm afraid there's more. With Dark Magician now in my graveyard, Dark Magician Girl gains an extra 300 attack points!

Dark Magician's Girl's ATK rises to 2300 due to her effect, higher than the DEF of Red-Eyes. Kaiba catches on to Yugi's brilliant play.

 **Kaiba:** With our dragons in defense mode, they won't be able to survive an attack! Their defense points are too low!

 **Yugi:** And therein lies their weakness. Now that I've exposed it, your dragons are no match for my sorcerers. Dark Magician of Chaos will rid the field of Blue-Eyes, while Dark Magician Girl does the same to Red-Eyes!

The pharaoh launches a double assault as both of his magicians point their rods at the opposing dragons and simultaneously shoot out beams of dark magic.

 **Joey:** What if I even da odds with a little Skull Dice action!

In the midst of all the monsters about to collide, a naughty little demon flies overhead and drops a red six-sided die onto the field. It lands on a " **3** ", meaning that all of Yugi's monsters lose 300 ATK until the End Phase. Dark Magician of Chaos' ATK drops to 2500, making it equal to the DEF of Blue-Eyes. Dark Magician Girl's ATK reverts to 2000, which is equal to the DEF of Red-Eyes.

The beams of dark magic hit their intended targets, creating a large explosion that obscures the entire field in smoke for a few minutes. The fans in the stadium are on their feet, eagerly anticipating the outcome of the collision. When the dust clears, all four monsters are unscathed.

 **Kaiba:** A stalemate!

 **Yugi:** Not necessarily. This turn isn't over yet.

Both Joey and Kaiba gawk at Yugi, wondering what the King of Games can possibly throw at them next.

 **Yugi:** When Dark Magician of Chaos was summoned, his special ability activated - allowing me to return one spell card in my graveyard back to my hand. The choice I made was Card of Sanctity. I shall now activate it - meaning we all draw until we're holding six cards in our hand.

Transitioning into his Main Phase 2 now, Yugi reloads his guns as Kaiba and Joey do the same.

 **Yugi:** Next, I play Dark Magic Inheritance. It transfers one Dark Magician-related spell card from my deck to my hand, as long as I banish two spell cards from my graveyard first.

Yugi removes from play Swords of Revealing Light and Horn of the Unicorn in his graveyard before searching his deck for the Dark Magician-related card he needs. As he shuffles, Kaiba and Joey wonder what card he chose.

 **Yugi:** I cannot use this card if Dark Magician is not on the field. So I'll resurrect him by invoking the Dark Magic Veil spell and paying 1000 life points.

Yugi's life points drop to 3200. An enchanted vortex opens up on his field and Dark Magician leaps out of it, returning in attack position next to Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician of Chaos. Three of the mightiest spellcasters in all of Duel Monsters are now assembled on the pharaoh's field.

 **Joey:** Yeah, dat's it. Line up every magician ya got. Summon a thousand magicians for all we care, Red-and-Blue Eyes will send 'em packing ta Graveyardville one by one!

 **Yugi:** What about a Thousand Knives?

Hundreds of razor-sharp flying daggers suddenly appear out of thin air in front of Dark Magician. Evidently, this is the card Yugi took from his deck by the effect of Dark Magic Succession.

 **Yugi:** If I can't blast Blue-Eyes away, then I'll just skewer him. Go Thousand Knives!

With a single phrase, Dark Magician releases the daggers and they all head straight for Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But right before they impale it, the beast dematerializes. The knives continue on their original trajectory and head for Kaiba instead. He doesn't even flinch as the holographic knives crash against his body.

 **Yugi:** Do my eyes deceive me, or did Blue-Eyes just vanish? Where is it?

 **Kaiba:** In a different dimension and safely away from your kitchen utensils, thanks to my handy Interdimensional Matter Transporter. It banished my monster for one turn. So I regret to inform you that its absence is only temporary.

Kaiba and Joey then brace themselves for the next wave, not certain they have anything left to repel it. But Yugi is out of ammo too, so he has no choice but to cease the assault. For now.

 **Yugi:** There's nothing more I can do. I set two face-downs and end my turn.

Two shadowy cards appear in Yugi's back row behind his three magicians, whose ATK points are restored to their original values as the effect of Skull Dice wears off. Blue-Eyes returns from the different dimension and lands with a roar in front of Kaiba.

The crowd holds their breath in anticipation of the next card activation. When they realize the turn has officially concluded, they erupt in a simultaneous, thunderous cheer. The sudden noise snaps the three duelists out of their intense concentration and they each take a deep breath, realizing how tense they've been throughout the battle.

Everyone is on their feet clapping for the back-and forth sequence they just witnessed. Even the hard-to-impress Pegasus is on his feet with the rest of them, spilling red wine over his expensive clothes in the midst of all the excitement.

 **Pegasus:** Incredible! The combos, the counters, the reaction time… these truly are the top three duelists in the world.

The top three duelists are already examining the new cards in their hand, deciding which of them to utilize during the next round.

 **Turn 29** – Yugi: 3200 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

Joey's Dangerous Machine Type-6 begins shaking and buzzing with electricity as his turn starts.

 **Joey:** Time ta give the old one-armed bandit a spin!

Numbers begin turning inside the machine as it vibrates. The number that eventually comes up is **"4".** Joey seems disappointed with the result.

 **Joey:** Knew I shoulda put some grease in dat thing… anyway, 4 means you get ta draw one card from your deck, Yugi.

A grumble can be heard coming from Kaiba's general direction. Yugi picks up the top card from his deck and adds it to his hand, hoping the rest of Joey's turn goes as well as it has thus far.

 **Joey:** First I'm switching Red-Eyes Black Dragon ta attack mode!

Red-Eyes stands up and points its steel claws at the trinity of magicians in front of it. With 3000 ATK, none of them can withstand its ferocity. Of course, Yugi knows this and came prepared.

 **Yugi:** Sorry **,** gonna have to take a rain check on that attack. Reveal face-down card: Mystical Space Typhoon!

 **Joey:** Let me guess – you'll use it ta negate Dragon Nails, right?

 **Yugi:** Right. Well… technically, wrong. I'll use it to destroy them. MST doesn't negate.

Before the rulings of the card can be debated any further, a black typhoon is generated. It encircles Red-Eyes, erasing its Dragon Nails equip spell card and reducing its attack by 600.

 **Yugi:** With only 2400 attack points, there's nothing preventing me from destroying Red-Eyes next turn. And when it goes, so will the rest of your life points. It's been fun, Joey.

Joey chuckles as he presses a button on his duel disk.

 **Joey:** Sure has. And it's about ta get funner. Now I switch my Red-Eyes ta BEAST mode!

Joey activates his trap; Red-Eyes begins transforming. A layer of nearly impenetrable stainless steel begins covering the black dragon's entire body from head to toe, making it even more deadly and intimidating than it was before. Its stats rise to (2700/2300).

 **Joey:** Metalmorph turns my Red-Eyes Black Dragon into a Red-Eyes Black METAL Dragon, boosting its attack and defense by 300. But wait, der's more! Whenever Red-Eyes attacks, it gains attack points equal ta half da attack points of its target. Your three amigos ain't got nothin' on him now!

Kaiba is clearly impressed by Red Eyes' new paint job. If there's one thing the KaibaCorp president knows how to appreciate, it's a cool-looking dragon.

 **Joey:** I plan on reducin' da local wizarding population from 3 ta 1 dis turn. Ta help with dat, I summon Goblin Attack Force!

A rabble of green goblins armed with clubs (2300/0) is conscripted on Joey's field. With that, the Battle Phase is under way.

 **Joey:** Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon, show Dark Magician a Chaos why you're da top a da food chain! Flash… flare… blast!

Metalmorph's magic boosts the metallic dragon's ATK to 4100. It rears its head back and spits out a fiery orb at Dark Magician of Chaos. The mage is engulfed and promptly destroyed by the blast. Yugi grimaces as the shockwave ripples through him and his life points decrease by 1300.

 **Joey:** Down goes your strongest monstah, and der's more where dat came from. Now I would personally never hit a woman, but my goblins have no such issues. It's clobberin' time!

The army of goblins surround Dark Magician Girl and start pummeling with their clubs so wildly that they create a cloud of dust. But when the dust clears, Dark Magician Girl is nowhere to be found. A solitary white pigeon flies over the heads of the goblins and past Yugi before disappearing into the winds.

 **Joey:** Did… did they get her? I would hate ta see her go, but love ta watch her leave. Know what I'm saying?

 **Yugi:** The only place she went is back into my hand, thanks to my Magical Pidgeon spell card. It transformed Dark Magician Girl into a pigeon, allowing her to easily slip past your clumsy goblins and escape harm. They're a reckless force… _too_ reckless. One attack is all they can manage before they're totally out of breath and on the defensive.

Yugi's words ring true. The Goblin Attack Force is panting heavily; some of the band members are on their knees while others are on their backs. The monster card has been switched to defense position. Its DEF points are 0.

 **Joey:** Yeah, but in defense mode I won't lose any life points if they get attacked. So I didn't leave any openings for you ta poke through. All you gotta think about is Red-Eyes breathing down your neck. And on dat note, it's your turn.

Joey sets one card in his back row before throwing it to Yugi. As the turn ends, Dark Magician Girl returns to the field and takes her place beside Dark Magician.

 **Turn 30** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 50 LP

 _Neither of them is strong enough to take down Joey's upgraded Red-Eyes, but those goblins are a much, much bigger target than he realizes,_ thinks the Pharaoh while surveying the field.

 **Yugi:** If you think your life points are safe with your goblins in defense mode… you're wrong. I equip Dark Magician with the spell card Dark Spear!

The magician's staff transforms into a lance. His ATK and DEF points stay the same however, so there must be another benefit.

 **Yugi:** From now on, every time Dark Magician attacks a monster in defense mode whose defense points are lower than his attack points, the difference gets subtracted from your life points.

 _Wheeler!_ mutters Kaiba, realizing that his partner is about to be eliminated from the duel. _Why does it not surprise me that he runs Goblin Attack Force, a glass cannon whose weakness can easily be exploited. And unfortunately, we're up against the master of exploiting monster weaknesses_.

Dark Magician leaps at the exhausted Goblins. He easily pierces their nonexistent armor, taking them out along with the rest of Joey's life points.

 **Yugi:** Joey, you should know by now that defense mode isn't always enough to protect your life points, especially since you only had 50 of them left. You simply couldn't afford to make such moves.

Yugi is confused. Joey's life point counter reads 1550. Is it a glitch in the system? Surely KaibaCorp has ironed out all the kinks in its technology by now.

 **Joey:** Hehehehe… I knew you would think dat I would think dat. It's a new technique I've been practicing called "reverse psychology". I WANTED you ta attack my Goblins so I could activate my wonder drug, Nutrient Z! It increased my life points by 4000 before I took da damage from your attack. So 50 plus 4000 minus 2500 equals…

Joey quickly glances at his duel disk life point display.

 **Joey:** 1550! Not only did I survive, I managed ta restore my life points too. Ya keep underestimatin' me, Yugi. Bad idea.

Yugi and Kaiba are floored, once again finding themselves surprised by Joey. With each passing turn, he keeps proving more and more than he belongs on the same stage with the King of Games and his greatest rival.

 **Yugi:** I should've known you'd have a Nutrient Z card lying around somewhere. Good card. Just as good as these.

Yugi sets three cards in his spell and trap card zone, then ends his turn.

 **Turn 31** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 2200 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

The spotlight now shines on Kaiba, and he intends to make his presence known.

 **Kaiba:** It's my move, so stand back!

Seto dramatically pulls his next card, KaibaCorp cape billowing majestically in the wind.

 **Kaiba:** The scoreboard says I'm in the lead. And with this two-card combination, you geeks will be eating my dust. I play the spell cards Soul Absorption and Soul Release!

Kaiba slips them into his duel disk. As their magic takes effect, a green aura begins emanating from Seto's body, healing and powering him up to new levels.

 **Kaiba:** Soul Absorption gives me 500 life points every time a card is removed from play, while Soul Release lets me banish up to five cards from any graveyard. Do the math.

Chaos Emperor Dragon, Kaiser Glider, Slider the Sky Dragon, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, and Beast of Gilfer are banished to ensure that Yugi won't be able to revive the strongest monsters. Kaiba's life points increase by 2500, climbing all the way up to 4700. He now has more than twice as many life points as either of the other competitors in the duel.

 **Kaiba:** All right Blue-Eyes, it's just another day at the office. Annihilate his Dark Magician and prove your superiority once and for all!

 **Yugi:** Magical Hats, materialize!

Two giant hats with big "?" question marks hover above Yugi's field.

 **Yugi:** As for my magicians: now you see them…

The hats drop on top of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, concealing them. The two hats then become four and spread out in a line across Yugi's field.

 **Yugi:** Now you don't.

Kaiba shakes his head, chuckling to himself.

 **Kaiba:** The same old tricks again. Fine, I'll bite. Blue-Eyes, attack the hat on the far right!

Blue-Eyes opens its mouth and unleashes a beam of white lightning that instantly vaporizes the hat. But it appears there was nothing underneath it.

 **Yugi:** Wrong guess. I take it it's my turn now?

 **Kaiba:** Not so fast. You see, unlike Wheeler I don't rely on luck to win duels. I create the odds!

With that, Kaiba presses a button on his duel disk to activate his trap card: Tyrant Wing.

 **Yugi:** OH NO!

 **Kaiba:** OH YES. With Tyrant Wing, my dragon can attack twice in one turn. Looks like my odds just went up.

The white dragon's wings shine and grow twice as big. Only three Magical Hats remain, giving Kaiba a 2/3 chance of taking a monster out.

 **Kaiba:** Blue-Eyes, attack the middle hat! White lightning!

The center hat is obliterated. As the smoke begins to dissipate, a dark shape becomes visible in the spot where the hat previously stood. _Bingo_ , thinks Kaiba as he grins in satisfaction. The crowd gasps, wondering which magician was hit.

 **Kaiba:** Got him. Or her?

 **Yugi:** You certainly got something…

The King of Games returns Kaiba's smile. For he used one trick to mask another. The shape beneath the hat wasn't a monster at all, but a trap. An enchanted circle imbued with arcane incantations rises up and attaches itself around Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon's body, paralyzing the creature. Joey can do nothing but gape in shock as his dragon's ATK falls to 2000.

 **Yugi:** Theatricality and deception - powerful agents to the uninitiated. I secretly hid a Spellbinding Circle underneath those hats, and your second attack triggered it. It weakens Red-Eyes by 700 points and prevents it from attacking. Now I've neutralized the offensive capabilities of both your dragons for the foreseeable future.

Kaiba tries to hide his frustration at failing to destroy Yugi's magicians once again. He steers ahead and transitions to his Main Phase 2.

 **Kaiba:** What befalls Wheeler's metal hunk of junk is of little concern to me. I activate my Cost Down spell card! By discarding one card, Cost Down lowers the level of all monsters in my hand by 2 stars. That allows me to summon Gadget Soldier, normally a 6-star monster, without a sacrifice.

Seto discards Judge Man to pay the cost. A bulky warrior, half man and half machine (1800/2000), is called up to his field in defense position. It comes equipped with a grenade launcher propped up on its shoulder.

 **Kaiba:** Finally, I'll place these two cards face-down and end my turn.

Two dark cards fill the row behind Gadget Soldier and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The two remaining Magical Hats fade away, revealing the monsters underneath them.

 **Turn 32** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 4700 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

 _Dispatching the weakened Red-Eyes this turn won't be enough. I'll still be at the mercy of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes next time it attacks_ , mulls the pharaoh as he picks up Summoned Skull in his Draw Phase. _I need to wipe them both out. And I need to do it NOW._

 **Yugi:** I'll begin by activating Altar of Restoration. It banishes the top two cards of my deck. In exchange, it returns one spell card in my graveyard to my hand.

As the top two cards in Yugi's deck (Catapult Turtle and Feral Imp) are removed from play, Kaiba's continuous spell card Soul Absorption kicks in to raise his life points by 1000.

 **Yugi:** I select Card of Sanctity and then activate it. You know what that means.

Once again, all three duelists draw until they're holding six cards. Kaiba wonders if Yugi's plan will pay off or come back to haunt him. _He keeps recycling Card of Sanctity to replenish his hand. Not a bad strategy, except for the fact that it helps us out as well…_

 **Yugi:** Since one of the cards I drew with Card of Sanctity was Watapon, I can immediately use its special ability to summon it to the field.

A cute little furry called Watapon (200/300) is special summoned in defense position. A collection of "aaaaww!"s and "that's SO cute!"s can be heard coming from female fans in the audience.

 **Yugi:** Next I reveal my face-down: Card Destruction! Now we must discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards.

Having no choice but to obey the card's rules, Joey and Kaiba throw out their hands and draw six cards again.

 **Joey:** Bad hand da first time around?

 **Yugi:** Quite the contrary. I just needed to double it. And I'll do it with this trap card: Disgraceful Charity! Now we take the cards we just sent to the graveyard and add them back to our hand.

The duelists unite everything they discarded with their existing hand, giving them a wide variety of cards to use. Unfortunately for Kaiba and Joey, it's Yugi's turn. And he got just the card he wanted.

 **Yugi:** I sacrifice Watapon in order to tribute summon… the mighty Summoned Skull!

A portal to the realm of Archfiends opens up beneath Watapon, swallowing the little hairball up and replacing it with a far scarier creature. Summoned Skull (2500/1200), one of Yugi's classics, rises up in a dark cloud and opens its wings. The demonic monster terrifies the same girls who squealed at Watapon earlier.

 **Yugi:** Next I play the spell known only as… Makiu the Magical Mist!

The weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse. A fine mist rains down on the field, and it doesn't take long for everything to become soaked.

 **Kaiba:** It'll take a lot more than a ribcage with wings and a light drizzle to intimidate me.

 **Yugi:** I'm sure it will, but can the same can be said for your monsters? Drenched in water, they've all become one giant lightning rod… the perfect targets for my Summoned Skull's electrical attack. Through Makiu, it will wipe out any and all monsters on my opponent's field with defense points equal to or less than its attack points.

Joey gasps, realizing that none of his or Kaiba's monsters have more DEF than Summoned Skull's ATK. It's going to be one hell of a fireworks show.

 **Yugi:** Summoned Skull, LIGHTNIHG STRIKE!

The fiend roars and calls down an electrical current that surges from its body, quickly spreading from Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon to Gadget Solider to Blue-Eyes. Expecting huge explosions and resulting shockwaves, Joey puts his arms in front of his face to protect himself. But nothing happens.

 **Yugi:** It's not working! But why?

 **Kaiba:** See for yourself.

To Yugi's horror, Summoned Skull is shrinking. As its size diminishes, so does its strength. A once-powerful electrical storm has now been reduced to mere sparks, harmless to Joey's and Kaiba's monsters.

 **Kaiba:** My Shrink card cuts your Summoned Skull's attack points in half, making it lower than all of our monster's defense points. At this rate, its electrical output isn't high enough to charge a phone, much less inflict damage.

Eventually, the storm subsides and the tiny Summoned Skull (now much cuter as a result) makes a disappointed high-pitched squealing sound.

 **Kaiba:** You also neglected to mention the drawback Makiu has, so allow me. On the turn in which Makiu is activated, you can't attack with any other monsters. In other words, your Battle Phase is effectively over.

The Pharaoh nods, but he's not worried. With Spellbinding Circle ensnaring Joey's Red-Eyes, he does not fear a counterattack coming next turn. Yugi sets two cards and ends his.

 **Turn 33** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 5700 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

Dangerous Machine Type-6 buzzes to life once again as numbers spin and gears turn. Joey eagerly watches the gadget, excited to see what fortune will bring him this time. The number "1" comes up. The machine dies down, and so does Joey's enthusiasm.

 **Joey:** I get 1, which means I gotta… discard a cahd from my hand dis turn.

Joey gets rid of Swamp Battleguard while giving his machine the stink eye. It had better start producing some good results soon.

 **Kaiba:** Hold on, Wheeler. Before you do anything else, listen up. I have one question to ask. Can you summon a monster with at least 2000 attack points this turn? I have a plan.

Joey pauses and looks at his hand.

 **Joey:** Only one. But I need dat Summoned Skull ta do it. Can ya help a brother out?

Kaiba nods, smiling at Joey for the first time. Smiling because if this works, they win.

 **Kaiba:** Reveal face-down card: Enemy Controller!

Kaiba's quick-play spell card produces a huge joystick in front of him, and the KaibaCorp CEO begins reciting a code required to trigger one of the card's effects.

 **Kaiba:** A! B! A! Left! Right! Up! Down! Up! Down! C! A! Left! Left! A!

Summoned Skull twitches as its mainframe gets hacked. It then levitates from Yugi's side of the field to Kaiba's. Enemy Controller allows him to take control of it for one turn, at the cost of 1000 of his life points.

 **Joey:** Now dat Skeletor is on our team, I can use him ta bring out one of my all-time heavy hitters. Get ready for a blast from da past, Yuge. Cause I activate my Red-Eyes Fusion spell cahd ta combine Red-Eyes and Summoned Skull in order ta create…

Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon merges with the Summoned Skull on Kaiba's field, shattering Spellbinding Circle in the process. A new, far bulkier, far stronger dragon now stands on Joey's field.

 **Joey:** Da supreme Black Skull Dragon!

Half-demon, half-dragon, with black horns protruding from its cranium. The feared Black Skull (3200/2500) roars to announce its presence.

 **Yugi:** The Black Skull Dragon… I've faced it before. I've used it before. But as impressive as it is, do you think it will be able to do what your other dragons couldn't – overcome my magicians?

 **Kaiba:** It doesn't have to. It's not going after them. It's going after YOU.

Kaiba presses a button on his duel disk to activate his other face-down card, and Gadget Soldier is tributed to pay for its cost. A blue reflector appears behind Yugi and opens up like a flower. It's shaped like a satellite dish with an antenna pointed at the pharaoh.

 **Kaiba:** Here's the plan, Wheeler. Once your Black Skull Dragon attacks, my Reflect Energy satellite will redirect the blast directly to Yugi's life points. His wizard friends won't be able to pull any magic tricks to bail him out of this one.

Joey salutes Kaiba.

 **Joey:** Aye aye, captain. Our phasers are at da ready. Black Skull Dragon, attack his life points directly! Molten fireball!

The demonic dragon opens its maw to generate a swirling ball of magna and launches it towards the spellcasters. The blue satellite behind Yugi captures the flaming ball, then shoots it directly at his back. Neither of his magicians are in a position to protect him. He's defenseless.

Time seems to slow down as the blast gets closer and closer to Yugi's body. Just then, a wall of Kuribohs surrounds the pharaoh. The blast makes contact and explosions starts happening all around Yugi. But he is calm, standing perfectly still with his eyes closed. More and more Kuribohs get blown up, but even more take their place, multiplying faster than they can possibly be destroyed. The blast eventually fizzles out even with the Kuribohs still multiplying infinitely.

 **Kaiba:** You've got to be kidding me! WE HAD YOU!

Kaiba's fist is clenched. He truly thought they had checkmated Yugi there, and his frustration is mounting.

 **Kaiba:** I'll beat you. Whatever it takes. WE'LL beat you. That's what you wanted, right? Wheeler and I being a "team".

Yugi nods and smiles at his opponents as he puts Kuriboh in his graveyard pile. This is exactly what he wanted. _They've both made leaps and bounds as duelists in this match alone. Their teamwork has vastly improved. But they have to keep it up._

 **Joey:** Since I played my Red-Eyes Fusion spell cahd, I can't summon any more monstahs this turn. But with Black Skull Dragon being da strongest thing on the field without much competition, I ain't exactly sweatin'. So I'll throw down two facedowns and wrap things up.

The Reflect Energy satellite behind Yugi disintegrates.

 **Turn 34** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 4700 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

The ball is in Yugi's court, but he doesn't have anything that can overcome the dragons this turn, so he'll just have to buy time until he does.

 **Yugi:** I switch Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl to defense mode, then play two cards face-down. What do you have for me, Kaiba?

Both sorcerers take a knee.

 **Turn 35** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 4700 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

Angered by his recent failures, Kaiba is in a hurry to have some successes.

 **Kaiba:** Plenty. I activate Spell Sanctuary! Does it look familiar?

 _Indeed it does_ , thinks Yugi, identifying the continuous spell card. _Kaiba used this when we dueled in the Battle City finals_.

 **Yugi:** It treats all spell cards as quick-play cards, and it also lets us add any spell card from our deck to our hand. But why would you let me do that?

 **Kaiba:** Because I'm going to use the spell card I pick this turn to win. Now make your choice!

Joey and Yugi spend a few minutes searching their decks for the right spell card to take, while Kaiba makes his decision quickly and then impatiently waits for the others to finish. After all decks are shuffled, he proceeds.

 **Kaiba:** I discard Thunder Dragon, which lets me add two more Thunder Dragons to my hand. Then I'll fuse them together with Polymerization!

 _That must have been the card he got with Spell Sanctuary!_ , thinks Yugi as a thunder clap signals the arrival of Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100).

 **Kaiba:** First I'll use Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon to wipe out both your magicians at once, then I'll have my Blue-Eyes attack your life points directly and finish you. Any questions?

 **Yugi:** You have a card that allows your Thunder Dragon to attack multiple monsters at once?

 **Kaiba:** No, but you did. Take a look at your magicians, you fool. They're still wet from Makiu the Magical Mist. My Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon is a thunder-type monster – meaning it attacks using electricity just like Summoned Skull!

Yugi looks around at the wet state of his field, surprised that Kaiba figured out how to use Makiu against him. Still, it won't make a difference. Thunder Dragon calls down a surge of electricity to strike down the magicians, but they are unaffected by it.

 **Kaiba:** What now?

 **Yugi:** My Black Illusion trap card! It prevents all spellcaster-type monsters with at least 2000 attack points from being destroyed by attacks or effects for the remainder of the turn.

As the electrical storm rages fruitlessly on his opponent's field, Kaiba looks at the magicians with a blank look on his face. He failed again. Very rarely does he run out of ideas, but this is one of those moments.

 **Joey:** I told you, Kaiba. We can't beat those magicians when they're togetha. It's impossible.

Kaiba silently ponders what they can possibly do to make some progress, staring at the cards in his hand with a blank expression.

On the sidelines, Pegasus and Kemo are intently observing the duel.

 **Kemo:** I'm no expert at this game, sir, but it seems like neither side can gain the upper hand. They're going back-and-forth every turn, but there's still a bunch of dragons and magicians on the field.

 **Pegasus:** Something has to give.

Back in the duel arena, Kaiba looks at his partner.

 **Kaiba:** You're right, Wheeler. We can't beat them.

He places two cards face-down.

 **Kaiba:** I end my turn.

Joey looks at Kaiba in surprise, not believing that he would give up so easily. On the other hand, what can he do? Are they going to keep throwing attacks at Yugi until the pharaoh runs out of cards to protect his magicians with?

 **Turn 36** – Yugi: 1900 LP, Kaiba: 4700 LP, Joey: 1550 LP

Yugi draws a card that will allow him to go on the offensive again.

 **Yugi:** I switch Dark Magician to attack mode and then equip him with Magic Formula! It raises his attack strength by 700 points.

Dark Magician stands up proudly, his ATK now at 3200.

 **Yugi:** Dark Magician, attack Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon! Dark magic attack!

 **Kaiba:** ENOUGH. Activate trap: Attack Guidance Armor!

A sinister-looking piece of armor appears in front of Kaiba. It has the ability to attach itself to any monster and act like a magnet for Dark Magician's attack.

 **Yugi:** NO! KAIBA, PLEASE DON'T!

 **Kaiba:** If I can't destroy those magicians, then I'll just get them to destroy each other!

Attack Guidance Armor equips itself to Dark Magician Girl. She helplessly squirms, trying to get it off, but the evil armor cannot be overcome. Dark Magician's spear turns away from Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon and points at her instead. With great anguish on the duel monster's face, Dark Magician tries to control his weapon and turn it away. He can't.

 **Yugi:** Not like this!

Dark Magician thrusts his spear deep into Dark Magician Girl's heart, impaling her. Her face turns pale and the light in her eyes goes out.

 **Kaiba:** Pop goes the weasel…

Dark Magician Girl's hologram shatters before Yugi's eyes. The pharaoh is motionless. The crowd is quiet, shocked at the cruel way one of their favorite duel monsters was just eliminated. Joey doesn't say anything. The silence is broken only by Kaiba's laughter. At long last, he is triumphant.

 **Kaiba:** That's the problem with you "good guys". That's the problem with your "Heart of the Cards" philosophy. You become too attached to your monsters, and suddenly you're heartbroken when they get butchered. I'm not a good guy. I'm Seto Kaiba.

Yugi is still staring at the spot where Dark Magician Girl stood a minute ago.

 **Kaiba:** Why the long face, Yugi? Was she the closest thing you'll ever have to a girlfriend?

Yugi looks up at Kaiba. With a dead-serious expression, he says only one thing:

 **Yugi:** You'll pay for that.

Seto is unnerved by Yugi's tone. He isn't sure how to respond. Before he can think of a witty comeback, Yugi goes ahead with the rest of his turn.

 **Yugi:** I activate Double Spell. It duplicates the effect of a spell card in your graveyard.

A grim Dark Magician points his finger at Kaiba, invoking a spell from his graveyard. The spirit of Dark Magician Girl appears beside her partner, strengthening his spell with her own. As they perform their magic, both magicians look at Kaiba with an accusing expression. He feels even more uncomfortable.

 **Kaiba:** Well, don't stop there... What card were you planning on replicating the effect of?

 **Yugi:** Polymerization. With it, I will fuse Dark Magician with the Buster Blader in my hand.

Kaiba stiffens. Flashbacks to his greatest loss atop KaibaCorp Tower fill his mind. A nightmare he never wanted to relive.

 **Yugi:** But before its effect resolves, I'll chain my Emergency Provisions spell card. Then I can send every spell card on my field to the graveyard, gaining 1000 life points for each one. And because of Magic Formula's second effect, I'll gain another 1000 life points on top of that when it goes to the graveyard.

As his demise draws near, a bittersweet Joey can't help but marvel at Yugi's play. _Those cards were going to da graveyard anyway cause Dahk Magician is too, so he's not really sacrificin' anything and still increasing his life points. With moves like that, we never stood a chance, did we?_

Dark Spear, Magic Formula, and Double Spell go the graveyard, boosting Yugi's life points all the way to 5900. And now that he's all powered up, the King of Games unleashes his wrath. The effect of Double Spell (Polymerization) resolves, merging Dark Magician and Buster Blader.

 **Kaiba:** Behold… Dark Paladin, the ultimate magical swordsman!

A magical whirlwind swirls before the pharaoh, and from it leaps a heavily armored version of the Dark Magician. Wielding a great sword, Dark Paladin (2900/2400) hits the field, ready to decimate everything in his path.

 **Yugi:** Dark Paladin is the greatest dragon slayer in all of Duel Monsters. His special ability boosts his attack points by 500 for every dragon-type monster in ours fields and graveyards. Your own monsters turned against one another.

Dark Paladin raises his great sword, using it to collect the spirits of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Black Skull Dragon, as well as the spirits of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Baby Dragon in Joey's graveyard and The White Stone of Legend in Kaiba's. The paladin's ATK climbs to a massive 5400.

 **Yugi:** It gets worse. I activate Diffusion Wave Motion. All I have to do is pay 1000 life points, and Dark Paladin will be able to attack all of your monsters at once. You're done. Both of you.

Listening to the emotionless tone in which Yugi delivers these lines, the thought crosses Kaiba's mind that he might have pushed the pharaoh too far. Joey is thinking the same thing. He looks at both of his face-down cards, but neither one will help. Knowing that the ensuing attacks will wipe out all their monsters AND their life points, the Brooklyn native looks at his partner - proud that they made it so far considering all the problems they had working as a team in the earlier rounds.

 **Joey:** So long rich boy, and thanks for all da insults!

Dark Paladin continues to absorb energy, forming a glowing orb at the top of his sword. The orb is getting bigger and bigger.

 **Yugi:** Dark Paladin, attack everything! WIPE THEM OUT.

The swordsman gives a heroic battle cry and unleashes wave after wave of magic attacks at the opposite side of the field. The relentless barrage slices Blue-Eyes, Thunder Dragon, and Black Skull Dragon into hundreds of pieces. Their severed limbs go flying in all directions.

Joey's and Kaiba's fields are empty; all of their dragons massacred. The stalemate has been broken. On the other side, the King of Games stands tall and observes the damage.

 **Yugi:** This duel… is over!

When the dust clears around his opponents, Joey is literally glowing. His body is surrounded by white light.

 **Joey:** Uh… what gives? Am I dead?

Joey looks at his partner for answers. Kaiba has his arm outstretched, pointing to a single trap that has been flipped up in front of him.

 **Kaiba:** We're not done. I had a card. It's called Wish of Final Effort, and it converts every one of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack points into your life points, Joey.

Yugi can hardly believe his eyes. This is the card Kaiba used to save him when they dueled Dartz.

Joey looks at the life point display screen on his duel disk. Kaiba's trap card explains why it reads 2350 instead of 0. Kaiba has 2100 life points left. If he hadn't sacrificed Blue-Eyes for Wish of Final Effort, both of them would have lost. Seto looks at his partner sternly.

 **Kaiba:** It's up to you now, Wheeler. You must find a way to turn this around. Got it? If you screw this up after all we've done, I will haunt you till the end of your days.

 **Joey:** Even more than ya already do?

Kaiba can't help but smile.

 **Kaiba:** Yeah.

Joey nods and looks at Yugi's Dark Paladin, knowing he has a tall task ahead of him. _Well… we made it dis far._

 _ **To be continued…**_


End file.
